Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affects more than 5 million people around the world. And until now, no treatment could restore their vision. The Prima system, which was approved in Europe in July and is awaiting FDA clearance in the US, changes that. It combines a retinal implant with camera-­equipped eyeglasses to improve sight in patients who develop a blind spot in the middle of their vision due to advanced AMD. After training sessions, more than 80% of recipients were able to read, do crosswords, and use their phones.

The retina processes light in three layers of cells: Photoreceptors convert light into electricity, bipolar cells process that signal, and ganglion cells transmit the signal to the optic nerve and the brain. Prima replaces the photoreceptors.

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Developed by the California-based Science Corporation, the system takes advantage of the fact that AMD doesn’t damage all retinal circuitry; only photoreceptors—the cells that convert light into an electrical signal—die off. Prima’s implant mimics those cells and transmits visual information directly to healthy eye circuitry and on to the brain. “We’re leveraging all of the body’s own natural functions to process and transmit the information,” says Frank Brodie, an ophthalmologist at the University of California, San Francisco, and medical director for Prima. 

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