Retinal Implant Restores Reading for Most Patients, NEJM Study Reports

Overview

• In a study across five European countries that enrolled 38 people, 27 of 32 recipients regained the ability to read using central vision.
• Participants improved by an average of 25 letters, roughly five lines on a standard eye chart, after one year.
• The Prima system from California-based Science Corporation combines a hair‑thin 2 mm subretinal photovoltaic chip with camera glasses that project infrared images to the implant.
• Restored vision is monochrome, blurred and narrow in field, gains require months of training, and experts emphasize it is not a cure for macular degeneration.
• The implant is not yet licensed and is available only in clinical trials, with a Moorfields surgeon expressing hope for limited NHS access within a few years.