In Britain, an 88-year-old woman received a bionic eye implant
A patient at Moorfields Eye Hospital was able to detect signals in her blind left eye thanks to a revolutionary new implant. She became the first patient in the UK to receive this new device as part of a pan-European clinical trial.
This offers hope of partially restoring vision in people with geographic atrophy (GA), the most common form of dry age-related macular degeneration.
The procedure involves inserting a 2 mm-wide microchip under the centre of the patient's retina by surgically creating a flap into which the chip is inserted. The patient uses special glasses containing a video camera, which is connected to a small computer worn on a belt.
The chip captures the visual scene projected by the glasses and transmits it to the computer. Artificial intelligence algorithms process this information and instruct the glasses to focus on what they consider the main object in the image. The glasses project this image as an infrared beam through the eye onto the chip, which converts it into an electrical signal. This signal passes through the retinal cells and optic cells to the brain, where it is interpreted as if it were natural vision.
Four to six weeks after implantation, the implant is tested by switching on the chip, and at this stage the patient should see a signal. They then go through a rehabilitation programme to learn to use the vision they have been given. After this, patients can potentially recognise words, something they could not do before.
The device is being tested on patients who have lost their sight due to GA. The condition progresses and is currently untreatable. 12% of people over 80 suffer from dry AMD (age-related macular degeneration), while GA affects 6.7% of people over 80.
The 88-year-old woman, who has seven children and eight grandchildren, became the first patient in the UK to benefit from the implant. "Losing sight in my left eye due to dry AMD stopped me from doing the things I love, such as working in the garden, playing skittles and painting in watercolours. I am very glad to be the first to have this implant, excited about the prospect of enjoying my hobbies again, and I sincerely hope that many others will benefit from it too," the patient said.
Mahi Muqit, vitreoretinal consultant surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital, honorary clinical lecturer at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) investigator, said: "This pioneering device offers hope of restoring sight to people suffering from vision loss due to dry AMD. The success of this operation and the evidence gathered in this clinical study will provide evidence to determine the true potential of this treatment."
The study is supported by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. The Prima System device used in this operation was developed by Pixium Vision in France.
It is worth noting that in November 2021, a patient at the same hospital became the first person in the world to receive a 3D-printed eye prosthesis. Steve Verz from Hackney (East London) received an eye at Moorfields Eye Hospital.
The eye looks more realistic than a traditional acrylic prosthesis. It will also halve the time needed to fit patients with a prosthesis, from six weeks to three.
"I've needed a prosthesis since I was 20, and I've always been self-conscious about it. It looks fantastic. When I go out, I often look in the mirror and I don't like what I see. This new eye looks fantastic, and since it is based on digital 3D printing technology, it will keep getting better and better," Verz said before the fitting.
With a traditional prosthesis, the patient must attend a two-hour session to shape the eye socket before the prosthesis is fitted and then painted. According to the hospital, the 3D-printed prosthesis should shorten the production process to two to three weeks, and the initial appointment will take just half an hour.
Professor Mandip Sagoo, consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital, said staff were "excited" by the potential of a fully digital eye prosthesis.
“We hope that the upcoming clinical trials will provide us with convincing evidence of the value of this new technology and show what it means for patients. It clearly has the potential to shorten waiting lists”
The 3D-printed eye is true biomimicry and a more realistic prosthesis with sharper definition and real pupil depth. Unlike traditional methods, it uses an eye scan instead of an invasive impression of the eye socket, which is a complex procedure for children and so may require a general anaesthetic.
Steve Verz first tried on his eye on 11 November together with a traditional acrylic prosthesis. Returning home on 25 November with the newly created eye, he became the first patient to use a 3D-printed eye as a prosthesis.
