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Recently, there has been a new development in Age-Related Macular Degeneration that is showing promise for restoring sight to those with an advanced form of this condition. By implanting microchips into the back of a person’s eye, the PRIMA implant has restored vision to patients in the UK with the use of special glasses.

While this shows promise for those with AMD, the implant is still in the initial testing phase. Dr. Hongli Wu, an associate professor in the College of Pharmacy at UNT Health Fort Worth and a faculty member of the North Texas Eye Research Institute, discussed the advancement and what it means for AMD patients.

The PRIMA system, Wu says, helps restore some sight by using three parts: a tiny chip placed under the retina, a small processor you wear in your pocket and a special pair of glasses. The glasses have a camera that takes in what you’re looking at — for example, the letter “R.” The image is sent to the pocket processor, which converts it into signals that are sent back to the glasses. The glasses then project invisible infrared light onto the implant, which turns the light into electrical signals that stimulate the retinal cells. This allows the brain to “see” the shape of the letter, even though the normal light-sensing cells in the center of the retina are no longer working.

Patients who received the PRIMA implant were able to see better after getting the implant. They could read about two to three more lines on an eye chart after one year. Most of them -around eight out of 10 – were able to recognize letters, numbers, and short words again, which significantly improved their quality of life. This implant works differently from current treatments, which can only slow down vision loss but can’t bring vision back. The PRIMA device actually helps restore some central sight by sending signals directly to the eye’s nerve cells that are still healthy.

Wu cautions that there are still some challenges and obstacles for those who receive the implant, including relearning to see through extensive rehabilitation. “The implant sends new, artificial signals to the brain, so patients have to “retrain” their eyes and brain to understand what they’re seeing,” Wu said. “After surgery, they practice special vision exercises to learn how the new light patterns match real things — like shapes, letters, and movement. During the study, patients practiced reading large letters and adjusting the device’s brightness, zoom, and contrast to make images clearer. This training is very important because it helps the brain get used to combining the new central vision from the implant with the person’s natural side vision, almost like learning to see again in a new way.” The success of receiving this implant is dependent on proper vision-rehab support.

There are also concerns with long-term results, since researchers still need to investigate the results beyond a year to determine overall success. Since this implant is still being studied, Wu also cautions that more studies are needed before this treatment becomes accessible and covered by insurance.

While this technology offers hope for those in the late stages of AMD, Wu mentions that gene therapy and stem cell treatments, as well as newer drugs, can protect or repair the retina early before too much damage happens. “Some newer drugs can slow vision loss, but they can’t bring sight back once it’s gone,” Dr. Wu states. “The PRIMA implant is meant for people in later stages, when the light-sensing cells are already destroyed. It helps by restoring some central vision, so patients can see letters or shapes again, offering a new option when other treatments can no longer help.”

This new technology offers real hope for people with severe vision loss, but it’s still being tested and is not yet widely available. It doesn’t bring back normal sight, but it can help people see better in the center of their vision — enough to read large print or recognize shapes. For now, they can help protect their eyesight by taking AREDS2 vitamins and their current medications, keeping their heart and blood pressure healthy, avoiding smoking, getting regular eye checkups to watch for wet AMD, and staying updated on new treatment options like implants or gene therapy.

For more information on NTERI, please visit our website to learn more about eye health and research.

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