According to a report by the British daily Telegraph, blind patients have partially regained their vision through an international clinical trial that involved implanting a chip at the back of the eye.
In this trial, 38 blind patients from five European countries—UK, France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands—participated. The trial involved the PRIMA implant developed by the California-based biotech company Science Corporation.
Patients with Dry Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), known as Geographic Atrophy (GA), had a microchip inserted under their retinas. This chip is about the size of 2 mm and as thick as a strand of hair. They wore special glasses equipped with a video camera.
The camera converted images into infrared signals and transmitted them to the chip in the eye. This signal was then sent to a small portable processor to enhance and clarify the images.
The processed images were sent to the patient’s brain via the implant and optic nerve, allowing partial visual recovery.
Patients underwent several months of training to learn how to interpret this new form of visual information. As a result, 27 out of the 32 patients who received implants were able to read again using their central vision.
Mahmood Mukit, a specialist from London’s Moorfields Eye Hospital who led the UK team, said this trial marks “a new era in the history of artificial vision” and “an unprecedented achievement where blind patients can experience meaningful central vision recovery.”
The PRIMA implant is not yet formally approved and is only available in clinical trials.
Additionally, the BBC reported that congenitally blind individuals would likely not benefit from this implant as they lack functional optic nerves to transmit the signals to the brain.