--- description: While it's still hard to see the details of people's faces, it's possible to make out forms and shapes title: This Blind Grandfather Saw His Wife for First Time in 10 Years With a 'Bionic Eye' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Technology](/tag/technology/) ## Technology Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Blind Grandfather Gets Bionic Eye and Sees Wife for First Time in 10 Years by [NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 23, 2015 9:03 PM CUT by [NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 23, 2015 9:03 PM CUT A 68-year-old Minnesota man was able to see his wife for the first time in a decade last week after becoming the fifteenth person in the country to receive a “bionic eye” implant. Allen Zderad’s career as a chemist ended 20 years ago when his sight began to fail as a result of a degenerative eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa, according to a [statement ](http://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/bionic-eye-implant-offers-hope-of-restoring-vision/?linkId=12512902 "undefined")from the Mayo Clinic. Raymond Iezzi Jr., a Mayo Clinic researcher and ophthalmologist, was researching the [“Second Sight Argus II” retinal prosthesis system](http://www.2-sight.com/ "undefined") when he encountered Zderad and decided the grandfather of ten would be a good… [Read the rest of the story from our partners at _NBC News_](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/allen-zderad-sees-wife-first-time-decade-after-bionic-eye-n311216?cid=par-time-article%5F20141002 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3719450/blind-man-bionic-eye/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3719450/blind-man-bionic-eye/"},"headline":"Blind Grandfather Gets Bionic Eye and Sees Wife for First Time in 10 Years","datePublished":"2015-02-23T21:03:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:04:29.325Z","description":"While it's still hard to see the details of people's faces, it's possible to make out forms and shapes","url":"https://time.com/3719450/blind-man-bionic-eye/","keywords":["Technology","Tech","People"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"NBC News","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nbc-news/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/technology/","name":"Technology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3719450/blind-man-bionic-eye/","name":"Blind Grandfather Gets Bionic Eye and Sees Wife for First Time in 10 Years"}}]}] ```