Clinicians at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center are the first in the nation to implant a patient with a wireless retinal device as part of a new clinical trial.
The device, called Prima, aims to restore partial sight in patients with advanced age-related macular degeneration. The implant acts like an artificial retina, converting infrared light from augmented reality glasses into electrical signals the optic nerve carries to the brain.
Patients then work to train their brains to understand the signals from the implant and their existing vision during an intensive rehabilitation program.
"We are working with a great sense of urgency because the aging population of the United States … will see a significant rise in the number of patients at risk for vision loss through diseases like age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and vascular eye disease," José-Alain Sahel, MD, director of the UPMC Eye Center who initiated the clinical trial, said in a press release.
UPMC is conducting the clinical trial in conjunction with a similar trial in France where researchers have been following the outcomes of five macular degeneration patients for more than a year. So far, no patients have demonstrated device-related adverse effects, and most were able to identify letter sequences with the implant.