Macular degeneration affects millions

Age-related macular degeneration affects more than five million people around the world. Until now, no treatment could restore their vision. The Prima system changes that.

How Prima works

Prima combines a retinal implant with camera-equipped eyeglasses. It replaces photoreceptors, the cells that convert light into electrical signals, and transmits visual information directly to healthy eye circuitry.

Approval and results

Prima was approved in Europe in July and is awaiting FDA clearance in the US. After training sessions, more than eighty percent of recipients were able to read, do crosswords, and use their phones.

“more than 80% of recipients were able to read, do crosswords, and use their phones”

The system's components

Glasses with a miniature camera capture video at roughly five megapixels at thirty frames per second.A handheld processor converts this to infrared signals.

The implant powers itself

The implant contains three hundred seventy-eight pixels, each with an electrode and two photovoltaic cells.