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Implantable telescope improves vision, quality of life for AMD patients
 Mark R. Wilkins |
LONDON — An implantable telescope has shown encouraging results in patients with end-stage age-related macular degeneration, a specialist said here.
The Implantable Miniature Telescope (IMT, VisionCare) is a device that is similar to an IOL. It contains two microlenses that magnify objects in the central visual field and project them over a wide field of the retina, bypassing the central scotoma.
"The device is implanted in one eye to provide central vision, while the other eye continues to provide peripheral vision," Mark R. Wilkins, MD, said at the Euretina meeting.
In the U.S. Food and Drug Administration multicenter trial including 206 patients, a mean gain of more than two lines at distance and near occurred in approximately 70% of eyes at 24 months.
"We have implanted eight IMT devices within a smaller U.K. trial at the Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. On average, patients gained four lines of visual acuity, improving from 20/200 preop to 20/80 at 1 year," Dr. Wilkins said.
Patients significantly improved their quality of life, with many of them resuming activities they had previously abandoned.
- Disclosure: Dr. Wilkins has no relevant financial disclosures.