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First Prima bionic vision system successfully implanted in human
The first Prima bionic vision system has been successfully implanted and activated in a human subject, according to a press release from Pixium Vision.
The system, a miniature wireless photovoltaic subretinal implant, elicited visual perception in a patient with severe vision loss due to atrophic dry age-related macular degeneration. The patient will now begin a re-education phase as indicated by the trial protocol, the release said.
“Following activation, the patient reported a first perception of light from the central zone where there was none previously,” Yannick Le Mer, MD, the retinal surgeon who performed the procedure as part of a feasibility study in France, said in the release. “The patient now proceeds to the important re-education phase to learn to interpret the elicited light signals and evaluate the performance of the Prima system.”
The study will recruit up to five patients with evaluation at 6 months and follow-up to 36 months.