Europe Approves Hi-Tech Eye Implant

The EU has granted approval for a remarkable eye implant that can help restore vision for people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The US looks set to follow.

Credit: PRIMA

AMD primarily impacts people aged over 50, and causes blurry or missing central vision, impacting daily tasks like reading, driving and recognising faces. The good news is that the PRIMA implant can help.

It utilises hundreds of pixels to stimulate retinal cells by converting light signals beamed from a special pair of glasses, and tests show that it provides "meaningful" results for those suffering from one of the most common age-related causes of vision loss. Intriguingly, the implant also has a zoom-in feature to magnify tiny text.

In clinical trials, PRIMA improved vision for 80 percent of recipients. The implant has now gained CE (Conformité Européenne) certification under EU medical device regulations, making it potentially available across 30 European countries. Science Corp., the US company that makes the device, has already announced that the first commercial implant of PRIMA is expected soon in Germany.

The glasses that pair with the implant | PRIMA

The company also says that: "In the United States, we are working with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to bring PRIMA to the US market. PRIMA has received FDA Breakthrough Device designation and Humanitarian Use Device designation."

Mahi Muqit, a vitreoretinal consultant at London’s Moorfields Eye Hospital, which led the UK arm of the trial, commented: “Blind patients are actually able to have meaningful central vision restoration, which has never been done before.”