(Image Source: SlashGear)   BY CASEY BATEZAL   The Food and Drug Administration approved technology this week that could help visually disabled people begin to see again. The device is called the Argus II and is mounted on a pair of glasses. The maker, Second Sight, says it works when the image from the camera is transferred to a surgical implant in the eye, which is connected to the optical nerve. According to SlashGear, the Argus II can help treat people with severe retinitis pigmentosa, a condition that deteriorates cells in the eye that take in light. This condition affects about 100,000 Americans, only about 15,000 of which could qualify to use the device. The New York Times reports users can detect crosswalks, detect people or cars, and occasionally even large letters and numbers. The device doesn’t let users see in a conventional sense, but it does help identify objects with a lot of contrast. According to the Washington Post, the United States is a bit late to the game, the Argus II received approval in Europe in 2011, and has been implanted in more than 50 overseas patients. The Verge reports researchers hope to eventually bypass the eye all together, implanting the required electrodes directly onto the brain. “That would allow us to address blindness from all causes,” says Dr. Robert Greenberg, president and CEO of the company manufacturing the Argus II. To qualify for the Argus II, patients have to be older than 25 and had previously useful vision. The Argus II costs $150,000 plus surgery and training.