The successful operation on Flynn marks the first time the device has been used to treat age-related macular degeneration.
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Patients learn to interpret these visual patterns with their retinal implant.
April 2007 – US Scientists Have Opened The Way For The Superhuman Development: “The Bionic Eye”
. The operation was performed at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital. So far 18 patients across the world, including three at Moorfields, have been fitted with the device.
This then causes the cells to send signals to the brain.
“What we’re doing with Ray is try to elicit [visual] function within the area of macular degeneration”, explained Dr. Paulo Stanga, an ophthalmologist at the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital and professor of Ophthalmology and Retinal Regeneration.
The condition is painless and generally leads to the gradual loss of central vision but can sometimes cause a rapid reduction in vision. They had no peripheral vision.
Surgeons will now insert the Argus II retinal implant into more patients to show that it can work for a variety of cases.
The implant is part of a feasibility study which aims to evaluate the safety and utility of the Argus II System in individuals with late-stage Dry AMD, a condition that severely affects their central vision.
And he is the first person in the world to have both artificial and natural vision combined.
Flynn, an 80 year-old man from Manchester, England, was an avid gardener and enjoyed watching Manchester United play soccer (or football, as it’s called across the pond) before dry AMD took his central vision (wet AMD also exists).
Created by U.S. visual prosthetics manufacturer Second Sight, the Argus II works by converting images captured by a miniature camera – mounted on a pair of glasses worn by the user – into small electrical pulses. The glasses wirelessly transmit data to the chip which stimulates retina cells and triggers the brain.
130 patients worldwide with the rare disease retinitis pigmentosa have already successfully used the bionic implant. Since July 1st when the system was switched on, Ray has apparently reported being able to see the outlines of people and objects, even with his eyes closed.
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The charity’s chief executive Cathy Yelf, said Wednesday: “This is an exciting result and we are following the progress of these trials with great interest. He is seeing the outline of people and objects very effectively”, says Prof. Stanga is now running a medical trial to see if the implant is effective and hopes to get another four people enrolled in the study. Four more patients are now being recruited for the research project.
