PRIMA Retinal Implant Helps People With Advanced AMD Read and Use Phones

More than 5 million people worldwide with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) experience retinal atrophy. Until now, no treatment could restore vision affected by this advanced stage of the disease. The PRIMA system, approved in Europe in July and awaiting FDA clearance in the United States, could change that.

PRIMA combines retinal implants with camera-equipped glasses to improve vision in people with advanced AMD, which can create a blind spot in the center of their visual field. After training, more than 80% of participants were able to read, write, complete crossword puzzles, and use a mobile phone.

How the PRIMA retinal implant works

Developed by California-based Science Corporation, the PRIMA system takes advantage of the fact that AMD does not damage every retinal circuit. The disease primarily destroys photoreceptors, the cells that convert light into electrical signals.

PRIMA’s implants mimic photoreceptors and transmit visual information directly to healthy retinal circuitry and the brain. “We utilize all of the body’s own natural functions to process and communicate information,” says Frank Brody, an ophthalmologist at the University of California, San Francisco, and chief medical officer of ophthalmology at Science.