For the first time in France, two patients were able to benefit from eye implants in order to regain partial vision. Real hope for people with blindness.
It was at the Institut de la Vision, and in the presence of Marisol Touraine, that two men were able to present their new life. Suffering from retinopathy pigmentosa, they had become blind following the destruction of their photoreceptors by the disease.
Thanks to eye implants, which they are the first to test, they were recently able to regain partial vision. A major breakthrough and a first in France that could benefit millions of people with vision problems.
The operation of these implants is simple. Installed on the retina of patients, the sensors transmit to the brain the images recorded by a miniature camera, placed in the pair of glasses that patients must wear at all times. The brain will then take care of transforming the received electronic signal into an image.
A real revolution
Jean and Claude, the two patients chosen for the first implantation, have regained their autonomy of movement but many efforts remain to be made. For example, perspectives and distances are not yet fully understood by the implant.
Not enough to take away the big smile on Jean’s face. “It’s phenomenal, I haven’t seen it in years and suddenly you have it all! »He says to theAFP.
While Jean manages to avoid the two studs in his path, Claude succeeds in differentiating the shades of the same color. These tests may seem trivial for the able-bodied, but it is in fact a real revolution, which could improve the daily life of thousands of people, as soon as the implants have reached their maximum capacity.
Give autonomy to the blind
While this experience is a first in France, these implants are already being tested abroad. Last year, an American who had been blind for 30 years regained his sight thanks to this system. Research on this subject is therefore advancing rapidly and there is no doubt that ocular implants will, in the near future, be a solution to many vision problems.
When the two French patients, they will have to follow several rehabilitation sessions. On the program: recognition of numbers, objects and work on color nuances. Always questioned by theAFP, Serge Picaud, team director at the Institut de la Vision, argues that “the long-term objective is to empower patients, so that they can recognize faces and read complex texts” .
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