Eye implant and special glasses restore reading ability for some legally blind patients

A new study shows a tiny eye implant and special glasses have helped some legally blind patients regain the ability to read. The photovoltaic retina implant microarray (PRIMA) involves a sub-retinal implant and glasses with a camera that projects images via near-infrared light. Twenty-six out of 32 participants with geographic atrophy showed meaningful visual improvement after 12 months. Geographic atrophy, a leading cause of blindness in older adults, previously had no treatment to restore reading or face recognition abilities. The PRIMA device is still in clinical trials and not yet widely available.