Leslie Vlonitis has a teeny, tiny telescope in her right eye.
"It's a very different thing; everything looks larger so it's closer," she said.
Vlonitis has macular degeneration, a condition that blocks her central vision. She was nearly blind, but now she can read a magazine and watch a baseball game on television.
"It's a completely new way of seeing," said Dr. Marc H. Levy, neuro-ophthalmologist at Sarasota Retina Institute.
Levy helped develop the eye telescope, which is surgically implanted in the eye in place of the patient's natural lens.
"It was a whole new surgery that had to be invented, perfected," Levy said.
The telescope is for patients with end-stage, dry macular degeneration. It uses micro-optical technology images and improves central or "straight ahead" vision.
"It actually magnifies images by three times their normal size," Levy said.
There's no maintenance or side-effects, but Vlonitis said it takes some getting used to.
"You lose all of your depth perception once you get this new eye. You no longer have depth perception, so you have to be very careful," Vlonitis said.
"This is science fiction coming true in 2014," Levy said.
And for Vlonitis, 82, it's an eye-opening experience she never thought she would "see" in her lifetime.
The eye telescope costs about $19,000 and should be covered by most insurances.
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