Details of a ground-breaking retinal implant which has been shown to restore useful vision to the blind have been conference in Dublin hosted by Irish patient-led research charity Fighting Blindness.

Professor Eberhart Zrenner, chair-professor for ophthalmology at the University of Tübingen in Germany, provided details of the retinal implant, which consists of a microchip with 1,500 electrodes implanted below the retina.

Research by Prof Zrenner and his team on the implant began in 2005 with a temporary implant inserted into 11 patients.

Professor Zrenner said the results of the first trial with the implant were extremely encouraging.

"One patient was able to read the hands of a clock, discern seven shades of grey, find and identify tableware and combine the letters of the alphabet to form words."

Twenty-nine blind retinitis pigmentosa patients in total have since been successfully implanted with a microchip below the retina.

A second clinical trial in which patients have been implanted with a wireless device that is designed to remain in the eye permanently,began in 2010 and has now expanded to sites outside Germany.

Avril Daly, CEO of Fighting Blindness said: "Having contributed to its progress through our own researchers at the Tyndall Institute in UCC, it is especially gratifying to see this research project come to fruition. These trials reiterate the importance of patient involvement in advancing medical research and moving ever closer to treatments and cures for vision loss."

Over 200,000 people in Ireland live with visual impairment, including the common degenerative condition retinitis pigmentosa (RP).