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University of Pittsburgh ophthalmologists now announce the first human implantations of wireless retinal devices that restore vision for those with advanced age-related macular degeneration. And the implant is the size of a grain of rice.

The researchers report that 81% of patients regain meaningful central vision. More than 80% can read letters and even words once again. On average, patients enjoy a five line vision improvement when tested with standard eye charts. Some participants noted even better improvement with one subject able to discern the letters in 12 lines further down the chart.

So how does the device work? A 2 millimeter square wireless retinal chip replaces damaged light-sensing cells in the eye. Special camera-containing eyewear captures images and send signals to a processor and from there to the implant using near-infrared light. The implant, in turn, stimulates surviving retinal cells that send visual information to the brain.

While this implant doesn’t restore perfect 20/20 vision yet, it helps once-blind people read numbers, words, and even pages of text once again.

Age-related macular degeneration is a leading cause of blindness worldwide, affecting more than 5 million people. This technology could represent a major step toward restoring vision for many of them……someday soon

The references for this report are available on my website.

#MacularDegeneration #VisionResearch #BlindnessTreatment #MedicalInnovation #Futuremed