A new wireless eye implant is showing promising results in helping people with severe vision loss caused by advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
According to a recent clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the implant has helped many patients regain the ability to see letters, words, and even read books.
AMD is a major cause of blindness in older adults. A specific form called geographic atrophy (GA) slowly damages the center of a person’s vision. This happens when light-sensitive cells in the center of the retina stop working.
These cells are responsible for capturing light and turning it into signals that are sent to the brain. As they die off, people lose their central vision, which is essential for reading, driving, and recognizing faces.
An international team of scientists and doctors led this new clinical trial, including Dr. José-Alain Sahel from the UPMC Vision Institute in the U.S., Dr. Daniel Palanker from Stanford University, and Dr. Frank Holz from the University of Bonn in Germany.
The new device is called the PRIMA system. It is a very small, flexible, wireless implant—just 2×2 millimeters in size. It was originally designed by Dr. Palanker. The device works by replacing the damaged cells in the retina.
Patients wear special glasses with a tiny camera that captures images and sends them to the implant using invisible near-infrared light. The implant then turns this light into electrical signals that stimulate the remaining healthy cells in the retina, sending visual information to the brain.
The implant also allows users to adjust zoom and contrast settings to make it easier to see in different environments.
In the trial, 38 participants aged 60 or older were recruited from 17 clinics across five European countries: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Of those, 32 participants completed the one-year follow-up.
The results were encouraging. A total of 26 people showed meaningful improvements in their vision, and 27 reported using their new vision system at home to read numbers or words.
On average, participants improved by 25 letters on a standard eye chart, which is equal to about five lines. In fact, 81% of participants gained 10 or more letters, and one person improved by as much as 59 letters—roughly 10 lines.
Dr. Sahel said these results are remarkable and go beyond what anyone expected when they started the project 15 years ago. “More than 80% of the patients were able to read letters and words, and some are even reading books,” he said.
After one year, all surgery-related side effects had gone away, and the device continued to work safely.
Although the implant does not yet restore full, sharp vision (like 20/20 vision), the improvements are still life-changing for many patients. Dr. Sahel added that more work is underway at UPMC to help improve the device even further and possibly take patients above the legal blindness threshold.
Following the success of this trial, the company that makes the PRIMA device, Science Corporation, is seeking approval for clinical use in both Europe and the U.S.
UPMC was the first center in the U.S. to implant the PRIMA device back in 2020. That procedure was led by Dr. Joseph Martel, a specialist in eye care and surgery.
This exciting development offers real hope for millions of people suffering from AMD. While it is not a cure, the implant could restore enough vision to allow patients to enjoy reading, recognizing faces, and living more independently.
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The study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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