New Delhi, Oct 20 — A new wireless retinal implant could give people with advanced age‑related macular degeneration (AMD) a chance to see again, a study released today says.
The device, called PRIMA, was tested in a clinical trial led by researchers at University College London, the University of Pittsburgh, and Stanford Medicine. More than 80 % of the 32 volunteers could read letters a year after the implant was fitted.
AMD, especially its severe form known as geographic atrophy (GA), is the main cause of permanent blindness worldwide. It damages the light‑sensing cells in the centre of the eye, making it hard to recognise shapes and read books.
PRIMA replaces the lost cells with a tiny, 2 × 2 mm wireless chip. A small camera on glasses captures the world around the wearer. The camera sends images to the chip in invisible near‑infrared light. The chip then turns that light into electrical pulses that stimulate the remaining retinal cells, sending a new signal to the brain.
Participants can fine‑tune the implant’s zoom and contrast to suit their needs. After one year of use, all the safety issues had cleared, and most people showed major gains on a standard eye chart. On average, patients improved by 25 letters – roughly five lines – and 84 % reported using the implant at home to read numbers or words. One volunteer even improved by 59 letters, a 12‑line jump.
“Our study is the first time a vision‑restoring device has worked for so many patients,” said Dr. José‑Alain Sahel, chair of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh. “More than 80 % can read words, and some books.”
The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. If approved, PRIMA could become the first treatment that restores meaningful sight to people with incurable vision loss, offering a new way to live life more independently.
Source: ianslive
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