US-based brain-computer interface company Science Corporation has announced preliminary results from testing of its PRIMA retinal implant, finding the device capable of restoring life-like vision to patients who had lost their central visual field. .
The California-based company determined that patients with vision loss could perform high-acuity tasks such as reading or recognizing faces after being implanted with the company’s PRIMA visual prosthesis, surgically placed under the retina and paired with a custom pair of glasses. with an integrated camera and projection system along with a pocket processor that processes the image for clarity and magnification.
The study, called PRIMAvera, examined 38 patients suffering from geographic atrophy (GA) who were implanted with the PRIMA retinal system to restore vision in an attempt to obtain a CE mark for European market approval for the implant.
Max Hodak, CEO of Science Corp, said: “To my knowledge, this is the first time restoration of the ability to read fluently has ever been definitively shown in blind patients. This represents a major turning point for the field and we are extremely excited to bring this important technology to market over the next few years.”
As part of the study, the visual acuity of all participating patients was measured at 6 and 12 months after implantation using the logMAR scoring system. The results revealed that the implant was able to restore meaningful visual acuity in patients living with geographic atrophy (GA). located in the Fovea, also finding that users were able to use the device to read letters, numbers and words that were not possible before.
According to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) there are approximately one million cases of GA in the country with 160,000 new cases occurring each year.
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Frank Holz, scientific coordinator of the PRIMAvera study, said: “The results mark a milestone in the treatment of severe vision loss caused by geographic atrophy due to age-related macular degeneration. For the first time it was possible to restore vision in real form to a retina that has deteriorated due to age-related macular degeneration. Before this, there were no real treatment options to improve vision for these patients.”
Elsewhere in the brain implant space, Nexalin has revealed mixed results from a clinical trial evaluating its deep intracranial frequency stimulation (DIFS) technology in patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease, missing its primary endpoint. . Meanwhile, the field of Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI) has grown rapidly with potential uses spanning a wide range of indications.
