Thelife - change artificial retina by Second Sighthas today been kick in the go - ahead by European officials , making it the world ’s first to actually go on sales agreement , to anyone who needs it . Well , anyone with $ 100,000 spare , that is .
Those that fork out for the artificial retina must wear glasses , with a midget television camera obliterate inside actually broadcast electrical pulses into the retina . It will obviously take some adjustment , learn to read the signal that are send from the eye to the brain , buttests so farseem to be overpoweringly positivist .
I do n’t want to mention the words “ Repo ” and “ Men ” in the same sentence , butwe’re slowly getting there , are n’t we ?
Lausanne , March 2 , 2011 – After more than 20 year of research and development ask a squad of external specialist , Second SightMedical Products , Inc. , the leave developer of retinal prostheses for the blind , is pleased to announce that its Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System ( “ Argus II ” ) is now approved for cut-rate sale in the European Economic Area ( EEA ) . After a successful clinical trial run involving more than 30 blind patients around the creation , and a very thorough reappraisal of the intersection ’s rubber and functioning by an independent expert trunk , this twist becomes the first approved treatment ever usable for sightless the great unwashed .
“ After days of research , we are very felicitous to be able-bodied to offer a viable foresightful - term solution for people suffering from modern retinal degenerative disease such as retinitis pigmentosa ( RP ) , ” said Robert Greenberg , MD , President and CEO of Second Sight . “ The CE Mark blessing , which amount after vivid regulatory revue of our trial and our machine , be a huge measure forwards for the athletic field and for these patient role who have , until now , had no proven treatment alternatives . ”
Argus II is Second Sight ’s 2d generation implantable twist intended to cover profoundly blind multitude suffer from degenerative diseases such as RP . The system lick by convert video images captured from a miniature camera , housed in the patient role ’s glasses , into a serial of little electrical pulses that are transmitted wirelessly to an array of electrodes on the retina . These pulses then stimulate the retina ’s continue cells resulting in the corresponding perceptual experience of normal of light in the brain . Patients find out to construe these visual patterns thereby advance some functional visual sensation . Thirty patient participated in the clinical test , using the gimmick at rest home and in their day-to-day lives since the trial started .
Although the resulting visual sensation is far from normal , detective in the clinical visitation of the Argus II are excited by the results . “ After more than 3 years of clinical trial , we were glad to evidence the performance , safety and long - terminus dependability of Argus II , ” explained Professor José - Alain Sahel , Chairman , Department of Ophthalmology : Centre Hospitalier National d’Ophtalmologie des Quinze - Vingts , Paris , France . Adds Dr. Lyndon da Cruz , MD Ph.D. Consultant Retinal Surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London , UK ” The fact that nearly all patients had a stable , secure and functioning system and that a majority of patients could recognize orotund letters , settle the location of objects and the best could read myopic words impressed us beyond our most affirmative arithmetic mean ’
With this CE Mark approval , the Argus II is design to be available later this year in the following clinical centers : Centre Hospitalier National d’Ophthalmologie des Quinze - Vingts ( Paris , France ) , Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève ( Geneva , Switzerland ) , Manchester Royal Eye Hospital ( Manchester , UK ) , and Moorfields Eye Hospital , ( London , UK ) . Second Sight is actively adding sites to make the therapy more pronto available across the EEA in the coming months and yr . The troupe is also focus on obtaining insurance coverage for the twist and surgical function .
“ This ‘ unreal retina ’ brings hope to one thousand of people with advanced retinal diseases ” added David Head , Chief Executive of the British Retinitis Pigmentosa Society . “ The restitution of an element of vision may wreak with it the return of independence and mobility that would greatly better a affected role ’s quality of life . ”
Second Sight Medical Products , Inc. , located in Los Angeles , California , was founded in 1998 to create a retinal prosthetic equipment to cater sight to patients blind from tabu retinal degenerations , such as Retinitis Pigmentosa . Through allegiance and founding , Second Sight ’s mission is to develop , manufacture and market implantable visual prosthetics to enable unreasoning individuals to attain outstanding independence . Argus II is not yet O.K. for sale in the United States . European Headquarters are in Lausanne , Switzerland .
HealthMedicineRetina
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