A device that can 'mimic the action of the front end circuitry of the retina' and send images directly to the brain is being pioneered by a Weill Medical College of Cornell University team.
View this excellent TEDMED talk by neuroscientist Sheila Nirenberg for more details.
(TEDMED talk)
Star Trek fans have been waiting for Geordi la Forge's VISOR (or something like it) to send images directly to the brains of people who have lost their sight.
(Geordi la Forge)
Update 27-Feb-2017: Take a look at the vision strip from Orphans of the Void (1952) by Orville Shaara.
End update.
From Daily Mail; thanks to Moira for sending the tip and the reference (thereby rousing me from my sickbed!).
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 12/28/2011)
Real-Life Mind-Reading With MRI
'So you see, you can hide nothing from me. I am about to know you better than anyone has ever known you.' - Daniel Suarez, 2009.
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