Blind patients in the UK may be able to regain their reading ability with a new implant placed under the eye. Surgeons at London's Moorfields Hospital have conducted the first trials and are reporting impressive success.
The Prima implant, a tiny chip about the thickness of a human hair, is placed beneath the retina and receives images from a camera built into specialized glasses.
The video is transmitted to the chip via infrared light, where the data is amplified by a processor and sent to the brain via the optic nerve, enabling the wearer to see and read.
The study involved 38 people from five European countries. Of the 32 patients who received the implant, 27 were able to read again, and one year later, their vision improved by five lines on a standard eye chart.
For 70-year-old Sheila Owen from Wiltshire, the results were even more remarkable. Before the surgery, she couldn't even see large print, but now she can read accurately and happily describes how she has regained her enjoyment of life.
