Now let's turn to some of the very latest developments in medicine. Bio engineered corneas, and implants reversing congenital blindness, have helped transform the future of eye surgery this year.

This man is blind. But now, he can see the outline of a banana, and pick it out of a fruit bowl.

He's one of three people who've been given a retinal implant, as part of a trial at the University Eye Hospital in Tuebingen, Germany.

The implant is a three millimeter chip packed with more than one thousand light sensors. Each sensor sends an electrical signal to nerve cells, which are then processed by the brain.

For sufferers of impaired vision, the success of the trial is very encouraging.

Jonathan Abro, Retinitis Pigmentosa Sufferer, said, "For somebody to say, 'people who have lost all or most of their vision are able to distinguish shapes and are learning to see something again that's very exciting."

Over in Sweden, eye surgeons are trying to perfect a different procedure to treat corneal blindness.

Corneas are fragile and easily harmed by injury, malnutrition or infection.

Dr. May Griffith, Professor of Lingkoping University, Sweden, said, "In children it's malnutrition, disease. In grown-ups simply aging would do this. So, In general human corneas which are donated after death are used to replace the damaged or diseased cornea. However, there is a worldwide shortage of these corneas."

By inserting an artificial cornea into the eye, scientists hope to coax natural cell growth, and restore a patient's vision.

The procedure has been tested in a first stage study of 10 patients at Sweden's Linkoping University.

However, many larger studies need to be carried out before the technique can be widely adopted.

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