Eye Implants Help the Blind to Read Again

M.A. Dworkin

London - A group of blind patients can now read again after being fitted with a life-changing implant at the back of the eye. A surgeon who inserted the microchips in five patients at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, England, says the results of the international trial are “astounding.”

The technology offers hope to people with an advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), called geographic atrophy (GA), which affects five million worldwide. 

In those with the condition - which is more common in older people - cells in a tiny area of the retina at the back of the eye gradually become damaged and die, resulting in blurred or distorted central vision. Color and fine detail are often lost. 

The new procedure involves inserting a tiny 2mm-square photovoltaic microchip, with the thickness of a human hair, under the retina. 

Patients then put on glasses with a built-in video camera. The camera sends an infrared beam of video images to the implant at the back of the eye, which sends them into a small pocket processor to be enhanced and made clearer. The images are then sent back to the patient’s brain, via the implant and optic nerve, giving them some vision again. The patients spent months learning how to interpret the images. 

This is the first implant that’s been demonstrated to give patients meaningful vision that they can use in their daily life, such as reading, and writing,” said Mahi Muquit, consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at Moorfields. “This is a major advance. It is pioneering and life-changing technology.”

For the research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 38 patients with GA in five European countries took part in the trial of the Prima Implant, which is made by California Biotech Science Corporation. 

Of 32 patients given the implant, 27 were able to read again using their central vision. After a year, this equated to an improvement of 25 letters, or five lines, on an eye chart. 

The Prima Implant is not yet licensed so is not available outside of clinical trials, and it is unclear how much it may eventually cost. 

It’s possible the technology could be available in the next few years. It could also be used to help people with other eye conditions in the future. 

Artificial vision may offer hope to many, particularly after previous disappointments in the world of dry AMD treatment.