An 88 year-old woman has become the first patient in the UK to receive a bionic eye implant. She can now detect signals in her vision for the very first time since going blind.
“Bionic Nana”, as her grandchildren heartwarmingly call her, said she was thrilled to be able to see her grandchildren again.
The groundbreaking procedure took place at London’s Moorfields Eye Hospital. Diagnosed with geographic atrophy, her condition is the most common form of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The condition affects millions globally, and commonly causes a loss of eyesight.
The revolutionary eye chip was implanted behind Bionic Nana’s left eye. The chip works in conjunction with high-tech camera glasses. The glasses capture the scene in front of her and then relay the data into the implant, which sends an electrical signal to her brain. It’s exactly how natural vision works. Artificial intelligence processes the visual scenes and tells the glasses what they should be focused on.
The condition she suffered from is progressive, and currently, there is no stopping or treating it. An estimated 12 percent of people over the age of 80 will be affected by dry AMD. Geographic atrophy affects nearly seven percent of people over 80.
Bionic Nana said that losing sight through dry AMD forced her to stop doing the things she loved, including gardening, and painting with watercolors. She said that she was thrilled to have the implant, and hoped that other patients around the world will soon be able to benefit from the new procedure.
The Prima System device was developed by Pixium Vision, which is a French company. It was implanted in the London hospital as part of a wider European clinical trial.
In November 2021, the same hospital implanted a 3D-printed prosthetic eye into a patient for the first time in the world.
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