This Electronic Eye Implant Can Now Restore Vision For Some Patients

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an untreatable vision loss problem impacting those over 50. The disease starts as a thinning of the macula (the part of the retina responsible for detailed color vision), but progresses to geographic atrophy (GA), where the macula begins to disappear, leading to loss of vision. GA affects more than 5 million people worldwide, versus AMD which affects about 200 million people. Since you only get one pair of eyes, an untreatable issue means you lose your sight, for good. But new research points to the possibility of those affected by AMD getting their sight back. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the report proposes a tiny implant that offers "clinically meaningful improvements" to those suffering from GA.

Called the photovoltaic retina implant microarray (PRIMA), the small system uses a subretinal photovoltaic chip implanted in the eye, and augmented reality glasses to project near-infrared light, which together restore sight. Since those with dry AMD typically retain some function in their photoreceptors, scientists took advantage of that by implanting a light-sensitive device to improve visibility. The company that makes the 2 mm implant has said it can restore vision, now it has the scientific evidence to back up that claim. Working alongside the chip, the augmented reality glasses — which are connected to a waist-worn controller — capture images the person is looking at and project them into the implant, as infrared light. AI is then used to take those signals and translate them into brain-readable images. According to the results, 80% of participants saw an improvement after a year, with partial vision restoration.

During the study, researchers assessed vision changes for those with PRIMA glasses and those without at six and 12 months. A total of 38 participants were given the PRIMA implant, and 32 of them were assessed at the 12-month mark. That decrease in participants happened for various reasons. But after adjusting for those changes, it turns out that around 80% of all participants had a clinically meaningful improvement after 12 months. However, it would seem that many of those participants received "intensive visual training" which may have skewed the results.

The implant improved vision, but those using it only had their vision restored in black and white, so improvements could definitely be made. One of which, mentioned by the co-leader of the study, discusses improving sight accuracy. The researchers said they could add to or enhance the software behind the technology to "help resolve gray scales and enhance them for face recognition." Furthermore, the researchers don't think it will be possible "to restore full 20/20 vision with the implant alone," but they are "investigating tricks" that could improve vision so it's above the threshold for legal blindness. 

Advanced variants of these solutions are not far off from reality, and there are actually a few projects focused on restoring vision with tech, implant or otherwise. Imagine, for instance, self-powered eye implants that never need to be charged, or a revolutionary sight-restoring bionic eye implanted directly into a patient's eye. Even with other options, it's inspiring and pretty darn interesting to see a light-based implant and augmented reality glasses used in this way. Time will tell if each patient's vision can be restored further, in any capacity.