Results of the first Australian second-generation bionic eye clinical trial published on Ophthalmology Sciencedemonstrated “substantial improvement” in participants’ functional vision, daily activities and quality of life, over a period of more than two and a half years.
After seeing what blind people will soon be able to do, the study was conducted by the Center for Eye Research Australia, the Bionics Institute, the University of Melbourne and the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital. Researchers are focusing more on retinitis pigmentosa.
It is a hereditary disease of the retina which it affects around two million people worldwide and represents one of the main causes of vision loss in people of working age. But let’s now come to the real protagonist of the study.
The bionic eye is consisting of a series of electrodesdesigned by Bionics Institute and from Center for Eye Research Australia, they come surgically implanted behind the eye. Each electrode receives continuous signals from a video camera mounted on glasses, which stimulate the patient’s retina.
To help us better understand how this works, Professor James Fallon, head of research at the Bionics Institute, said: “The camera converts images into electrical impulses provided by the array of electrodes that activate cells in the retina and create flashes of light called phosphenes to help patients detect edges, shapes and movement“.
The new study tracked patients from the time they received the implant surgery in 2018 through 2021. The carefully analyzed results show that the device is stable and durable in the long termremaining in place behind the retina without complications and still having 97% of the electrodes functioning several years after the first implant.
As Penny Allen, one of the authors of the research, states, patients showed significant improvement virtually everywhere: in navigation, mobility and object detection, in clinical trials, at home and in the community.
“The bionic eye has enabled blind patients to locate doors, avoid obstacles and find objects on the tables. They reported greater confidence in navigation, were more likely to explore new environments, and they needed less assistance when they went to the shops” Allen himself said.
Although this time there is no Neuralink that makes you use the force like a Jedi, here is yet another scientific advance that will soon allow us to radically change our approach to certain pathologies.
Dr. Ash Attia, CEO of Bionic Vision Technologies, finally declared: “We are encouraged by the excellent results of the second generation bionic eye study. We can not wait to finalize the development of the third generation bionic eye and to enter the key study globally and ultimately gain regulatory approval will allow us to make this important technology available to patients with RP that will have a positive impact on their lives“.
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