Wireless retinal implant helps blind patients see again

A miniature wireless device implanted in the eye is showing remarkable results for people who have lost their central vision to advanced age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in older adults. Macular degeneration damages the macula, the part of the retina responsible for sharp, straight-ahead vision used for reading, recognizing faces, and driving. When those light-sensing cells break down, the eye can no longer convert images into signals the brain can understand. The new implant, no larger than a tiny square measuring 2 by 2 millimeters, steps in to do that job artificially, capturing incoming light and translating it into electrical signals that travel along existing nerve pathways to the brain. In an international clinical trial, more than 80% of participants regained what researchers describe as meaningful central vision after receiving the device. Some patients who had experienced years of steady vision loss were able to read individual letters and even full words again.