Implant

A tiny electronic eye implant helped blind patients suffering from geographic atrophy read again after surgery at hospitals across Europe.

Context

Geographic atrophy is an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration, a common eye condition in older people. The disease causes cells in the central part of the retina to gradually die, leading to vision loss. The condition affects approximately 5M people worldwide and has no existing treatment. Patients lose their central vision, making it impossible to read, recognize faces, drive, or watch television, though they can still see from the corners of their eyes.

Clinical Trials Published

On Monday, researchers published results from a clinical trial in The New England Journal of Medicine showing how an electronic eye implant allowed patients suffering from geographic atrophy to read.

Surgeons had implanted a microchip measuring just 2mm by 2mm and half the thickness of a human hair under the retina of 38 patients across 17 hospitals in five European countries. The device, called PRIMA, was inserted during a procedure lasting under two hours. After surgery, patients wore augmented-reality glasses with a built-in camera connected to a small computer on their waistband. The camera sent infrared images to the chip, which converted them into electrical signals that traveled through the retina and optic nerve to the brain.

Study Results

The research found that 84% of the 32 patients tested one year after surgery achieved clinically meaningful vision improvements. On average, participants could read five additional lines on a standard eye chart compared to before the implant.

Some patients reported being able to read books, complete crosswords, and read prescription labels using their previously blind eye. One patient said the technology was “out of this world” and described her vision before surgery as “like having two black discs” in her eyes.

New Era in Vision Restoration

Doctors at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London called the results “astounding” and said the technology represents a “paradigm shift” in artificial vision. A senior consultant at Moorfields stated that blind patients were now able to achieve “meaningful central vision restoration, which has never been done before.”

Patients required months of intensive training to learn how to interpret the images from the device. The implant is not yet licensed for use outside clinical trials, though doctors expressed hope it could be available through the UK’s National Health Service within a few years.