Blind patients to read again after life-changing eye implant, received 2025 10 20

[Colin Howard]

Greetings,

Fantastic! probably, at least initially, no good for me though, seems to
suit those with macular degeneration best, maybe will lead to my possibily
getting some useable sight back, unless it is soon, now I am 76, doubt it
will happen in my life time or for most who are reading this.

Also, I can't see how people who, so far as I know, have never had useable
sight could benefit, unless some meas is discovered to convert the
information into an appropriate code which the natural brain can understand,
here, though, we have problems of brains being individual, the code created,
for instance, to enable Dave Stephenson to make use of the information,
probably would not work if applied to Paul Roberts, or v.v., then we have
concerns about privacy, for we break the barrier down of individuality and
once this is broken, we enter the realms of thought police and the like.

Maybe you might think I'm being somewhat pesamistic? Or am I being more
realistic?

Comments, please!

The tiny device measures half the thickness of a human hair

Alex Storey

Patients who lost their sight can now read again after being fitted with
a ground-breaking implant at the back of the eye.
Five people were treated at the Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, where
devices measuring just 2mm by 2mm were fitted by surgeons.
Experts say the technology could eventually be rolled out through NHS
services which could offer a "paradigm shift" in artificial vision.
Fitted under the retina, the layer of light-sensitive tissue in the eye,
the device allows patients to see letters, numbers and words through an
eye that was previously blind.
Thanks to the so-called "prosthetic vision", some patients are now even
able to complete crosswords and read the small print on prescription labels.
Mahi Muqit, senior vitreoretinal consultant at Moorfields Eye Hospital
and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, described the breakthrough as
life-changing.
He said: "I have all these patients who are blind, and when you see
them, they want to know is there anything that can restore vision?
"And the answer has always been no.
"That answer has now changed. We've got some patients who are now
reading books. Their quality of life is much higher."
The findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggest
84% of patients in the trial were able to read letters, numbers and
words while using Prima.
On average, they could read five lines on a vision chart, whereas before
the device was fitted, some could not even see the chart.
The worldwide trial included 38 patients across 17 sites in five
countries including the UK, France, Italy and the Netherlands.
All participants had a condition known as geographic atrophy (GA), an
advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
GA, which affects approximately five million people worldwide, can lead
to complete vision loss as the central part of the retina.
Experts estimate that around one in four people who are legally blind in
the UK have GA resulting from AMD.
The procedure has been described as life-changing and could eventually
be rolled out to the NHS.
The procedure has been described as life-changing and could eventually
be rolled out to the NHS.
Those who took part in the study had lost central vision in the tested
eye and retained only limited peripheral vision.
To see and read, patients wear augmented-reality glasses with a built-in
camera, linked to a small computer on their waistband.
The camera sends an infrared beam to the chip to activate it.
AI in the computer processes the image and converts it into an
electrical signal, which travels through the retina and optic nerve to
the brain, where it is interpreted as vision.
The procedures took place at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London around
three years ago and lasted under two hours.
Sheila Irvine, one of the patients who took part in the trial, said that
before the operation her vision "was like having two black discs" in her
eyes, "with the outside distorted".
She can now read her prescriptions, do crosswords and read ingredient lists.
Ms Irvine said: "There was no pain during the operation, but you're
still aware of what's happening.
"It's a new way of looking through your eyes, and it was dead exciting
when I began seeing a letter."
Mr Muqit said the prima device allows patients who may feel depressed
and socially isolated "to start to function and pick up things that they
used to enjoy.
"In the history of artificial vision, this represents a new era," he added.
"Blind patients are actually able to have meaningful central vision
restoration, which has never been done before."
https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/blind-read-again-life-changing-5HjdFfB_2/

Colin Howard, Southern England.

[Rita Bayliss]

Hello,


I think you are probably correct, Colin, that this would not help
someone who has never had sight.  It would be quite an undertaking to
train a brain to recognise and interpret so many signals that would be
new to it and I think it could be quite overwhelming.


Having now lost the majority of my vision due to a deteriorating
condition, I would be concerned about being overwhelmed should it be
restored which is so unlikely that I do not think about it.


However, I do hope this will work out well for those it is suitable for
and who think they would be able to cope with it.


Best wishes,


Rita