MUMBAI: Discovery channel is is attempting to add depth to its programming with shows targeted at niche audiences.

The first such, Super Surgery: Restoring Eyesight, is a one hour show that will air on the channel on 24 August at 10 pm.

According to Discovery corporate communications head Sanjay Raina, “Screenings like this are one of the best ways in which we can portray the programming depth of the channel. We want to put forth the message that there is much more to Discovery than the sight of lions, whales and other animals. If one merely sticks to that level then the programming becomes very shallow in nature. Our aim is to show the manner in which we are aiming at educating the viewer.”

In Super Surgery: Restoring Eyesight viewers observe medical breakthroughs as surgeons repair one of the most complex organs in the human body by restoring it with plastic parts and silicon chips designed to mimic the most intricate workings of the eye. The show deals with the development of an artificial cornea in Perth Australia as well as a silicon chip in Chicago, which can help people with a damaged retina.

The show outlines how the artificial cornea was developed at the Lions Eye Institute in Perth. For 10 years the institute spent time developing an artificial cornea made from unique material, that isn't rejected. The show takes viewers through the process of inserting the artificial cornea. Meanwhile, two Asian American brothers in a Chicago lab developed the silicon chip. The chip can be implanted beneath the retina. It then mimics the act of the retina’s photoreceptor cells by converting images into electric signals, which are then sent to the brain. However due to FDA stipulations the duo have not been allowed to make public the extent of the success of their work.

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