An electronic eye implant thinner than a human hair has restored sight in 84% of patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), offering new hope for those with incurable vision loss. The device, called Prima, is a microchip the size of a sim card implanted under the retina in a procedure lasting less than two hours.
The trial involved 38 elderly patients with geographic atrophy due to dry AMD, a leading cause of blindness in over-50s for which there is no current treatment. After implantation, participants regained the ability to read letters, numbers and words, with five patients treated at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London and the rest across Europe.
Sheila Irvine from Wiltshire, who received the implant at Moorfields, described the transformation: “Before, it was like having two black discs in my eyes. Now, it’s a new way of looking through your eyes – it was dead exciting when I began seeing a letter.” Patients use augmented reality glasses with a camera connected to a waistband computer to process visual information.
Consultant Mahi Muqit hailed the results as a “new era in artificial vision”, noting that restoring reading ability significantly improves quality of life, mood, confidence and independence. The findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, mark the first time a device has enabled reading through a sightless eye.
