- Microchips restore sight to people suffering retinitis pigmentosa - an incurable condition that leads to blindness
- Condition affects one in every 3,000-4,000 people
- Clinical trial with two sufferers 'exceeds expectations
- Sufferers able to detect outlines of objects 'within days'
- Vision expected to improve further as 3mm chip 'beds in'
Surgeons in Oxford, led by Professor Robert MacLaren, fitted the chip at the back of Chris' eye in a complex eight-hour operation last month. Chris, from Wiltshire, said: 'I've always had that thought that one day I would be able to see again.'
Two blind men can see again for the first time in more than two decades after an implant of a 3mm 'bionic eye' microchip.
Doctors believe in time Chris James will be able to recognise faces, once his brain learns to see again.
Chris, from Wiltshire, said: 'I've always had that thought that one day I would be able to see again.'
Surgeons in Oxford, led by Professor Robert MacLaren, fitted the chip at the back of Chris' eye in a complex eight-hour operation last month.
Chris was one of two British patients to receive the electronic microchips - and both were regaining ‘useful vision’ just weeks after undergoing surgery.
Robin Millar, 60, from London, is one of the patients who has been fitted with the chip along with 1,500 electrodes, which are implanted below the retina.
The music producer said: ‘Since switching on the device I am able to detect light and distinguish the outlines of certain objects which is an encouraging sign.
‘I have even dreamt in very vivid colour for the first time in 25 years so a part of my brain which had gone to sleep has woken up!
‘I feel this is incredibly promising for future research and I'm happy to be contributing to this legacy.’
Eye experts developing the pioneering new technology said the first group of British patients to receive the electronic microchips were regaining 'useful vision' just weeks after undergoing surgery.
The news will offer fresh hope for people suffering from retinitis pigmentosa (RP) - a genetic eye condition that leads to incurable blindness.
Retina Implant AG, a leading developer of subretinal implants, fitted two RP sufferers with the wireless device in mid-April as part of its UK trial.
The patients were able to detect light immediately after the microchip was activated, while further testing revealed there were also able to locate white objects on a dark background, Retina Implant said.
The chip is 3mm by 3mm, and is implanted into the eyeball of sufferers
The Six Million Dollar Man: A similar 'bionic' technology was used to restore sight to the blind, and the first group of British patients to receive the electronic microchips were regaining 'useful vision' just weeks after undergoing surgery
The Wiltshire man can now recognise shapes after becoming the first British patient to be fitted with the digital chip
Robin Millar from London, one of two men to undergo cutting edge bionic eye treatment
The first group of British patients to receive the electronic microchips were regaining ¿useful vision¿ just weeks after undergoing surgery
The company hopes for a further trial with ten new patients later this year
Retina Implant AG, a leading developer of subretinal implants, fitted two RP sufferers with the wireless device in mid-April as part of its UK trial.
The patients were able to detect light immediately after the microchip was activated, while further testing revealed there were also able to locate white objects on a dark background, Retina Implant said.
Ten more British sufferers will be fitted with the devices as part of the British trial, which is being led by Tim Jackson, a consultant retinal surgeon at King’s College Hospital and Robert MacLaren, a professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Oxford and a consultant retinal surgeon at the Oxford Eye Hospital.
They said: ‘We are excited to be involved in this pioneering subretinal implant technology and to announce the first patients implanted in the UK were successful.
‘The visual results of these patients exceeded our expectations. This technology represents a genuinely exciting development and is an import step forward in our attempts to offer people with RP a better quality of life.’
The patients were able to detect light immediately after the microchip was activated, while further testing revealed there were also able to locate white objects on a dark background, Retina Implant said
The chip pairs with an external device to process images
Chris James from Wiltshire, said: 'I've always had that thought that one day I would be able to see again.'
The patients will undergo further testing as they adjust to the 3mm by 3mm device in the coming months.
The subretinal implant technology has been in clinical trials for more than six years with testing also taking place in Germany. Developers are planning to seek commercial approval following the latest phase of testing.
David Head, head of charity RP Fighting Blindness, said: ‘The completion of the first two implants in the UK is very significant and brings hope to people who have lost their sight as a result of RP.’
RP is an inherited condition which gets worse over time and affects one in every 3,000-4,000 people in Europe.
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