The device developed by the company Second Sight Medical Products, is composed of electrodes implanted in the retina and glasses equipped with a miniaturized camera.
Already approved by European authorities, this bionic eye is the first in the world to be marketed. People with retinopathy pigmentosa, a rare genetic condition that causes degeneration of photoreceptors in the retina, could see again through this device. This disease affects 100,000 people in the United States.
Video signals and an electrical load
The eye picks up light and receptors convert it into electrochemical signals that are transmitted to the brain through the optic nerve. “This retinal prosthesis directly stimulates this nerve with video signals and an electrical charge transmitted wirelessly at certain frequencies to 60 electrodes implanted in the retina,” explains Brian Mech, a manager of Second Sight.
The 30 people aged 28 to 77 who participated in the Argus clinical trial were all totally blind. These patients generally found an acuity of 0.17 / 10th which allows them to distinguish black and white shapes, such as shadows without being able to recognize the face. “Results vary a lot from patient to patient. Some see a slight improvement while others can read newspaper headlines when they were totally blindBrian Mech sums up. In some cases, patients have been able to see in color.
Argus 2 is available in several European countries for 73,000 euros, he said, noting that this retinal prosthesis promised to be a commercial success. “We have a lot of planned surgeries,” he says.