Eye implant allows the blind to see again
An eye implant which has returned partial sight to three blind patients has been developed by scientists.
By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent
A ground-breaking retinal implant has allowed three blind patients to see shapes and objects for the first time since they lost their sight to an inherited disease Photo: AG/PA
The device is being hailed as an "unprecedented advance" in visual aids, and could revolutionise the lives of 200,000 people who suffer from the degenerative eye condition retinitis pigmentosa.
The hereditary disease means that light receptors in the eye cease to function, impairing vision.
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But scientists working for firm Retinal Implant AG along with the Institute for Ophthalmic Research at the University of Tuebingen, southern Germany, say the implant can help reverse the effects.
The three patients tests in Germany were able to see shapes and objects within days of the implant being installed.
One was even able to identify and find objects placed on a table in front of him, as well as walking around a room independently and approaching people, reading a clock face and differentiating seven shades of grey, reports journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
The implant sits beneath the retina and works as a direct replacement for light receptors lost to the condition.
Because it is internal, it uses the eye's natural image processing capabilities beyond the light detection stage to produce a visual perception in the patient that is stable and follows their eye movements.
Previous implants sit outside the retina and require the user to were an external camera and processor unit.
Professor Eberhart Zrenner, chairman of the University of Tuebingen Eye Hospital, said: "The results of this pilot study provide strong evidence that the visual functions of patients blinded by a hereditary retinal dystrophy can, in principle, be restored to a degree sufficient for use in daily life.
"The present study presents proof-of-concept that such devices can restore useful vision in blind human subjects, even though the ultimate goal of broad clinical application will take time to develop."
David Head, chief executive of the British Retinitis Pigmentosa Society, said that it was exciting news but that it was early days.
"This is very significant process but it is a long way off being a bionic eye."
It is estimated that there are 25,000 sufferers of retinitis pigmentosa in the UK out of a total of two million people who are registered as visually impaired.
It is probably the major cause of blindness in people under 65 and can strike in the early teens.
Professor Robert MacLaren, of Oxford University, who will carry out trials in Britain next year, said: "This is quite a breakthrough. It is akin to someone paralysed with a spinal injury standing up and walking."
It is hoped that if the implant proves successful it could also be used for age-related macular degeneration which effects one in 100 people between the ages of 65 and 75.
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