Electronic eye implant hailed as sight restored

An electronic eye implant half the thickness of a human hair has helped people with incurable sight loss to see again, opening up a potential “new era” in tackling blindness.

- Denis Campbell Health policy editor

Doctors who implanted the sim card-shaped prosthetic devices say they have helped many of the 38 elderly patients in the trial regain their ability to read letters, numbers and words.

“In the history of artificial vision, this represents a new era,” said Mahi Muqit, a senior consultant at Moorfields eye hospital in London, one of the 17 sites involved.

"Blind patients are actually able to have meaningful central vision restoration, which has never been done before. Getting back the ability to read is a major improvement in their quality of life, lifts their mood and helps to restore their confidence and independence." The trial found 84% of participants were once again able to read letters, numbers and words after being fitted with the implant, called the Prima device. It has been developed by Science Corporation, a medical technology company.

Eye specialists hailed the results as "remarkable" and said the device could help people with the "dry" form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of sight loss in the over-50s.