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Subretinal implant continues to show promise
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MILAN — Studies with the wireless Alpha IMS subretinal implant from Retina Implant AG continue to show promising results. The ongoing multicenter part of the study began in early 2012, and the monocentric part was concluded in 2011.
“So far, 29 blind retinitis pigmentosa patients and one choroideremia patient have been implanted. All procedures were successful, and we had no major adverse events,” Eberhart Zrenner, MD, said at the Euretina congress.
Eberhart Zrenner
Patients underwent light and motion tests on the screen as well as tests on daily living activities, indoor and outdoor.
“First of all, we have learned that localization of objects can be achieved only if we implant the chip under the fovea. Parafoveal positioning only allowed for light perception, but not for location and movement,” he said.
Zrenner illustrated the outcomes of the patients implanted in the monocentric part of the study. All of them acquired light perception, and eight out of nine were able to localize the light on the screen, recognize geometric patterns and localize objects on a table setup. About half of the patients achieved motion recognition, gray-scale differentiation and letter reading. Improvement in outdoor activities, such as localization of objects, orientation and mobility, was observed
“These experiments prove the concept that electric multifocal stimulation is able to restore useful vision up to reading capability. We need to further improve the implant for use in daily life and ensure long-term stability and contrast vision,” Zrenner said.
Disclosure: Zrenner is one of the founders of Retina Implant but receives no compensation for advisory tasks for this project.