Breakthrough eye implant helps blind patients read again, hailed as leap in vision restoration

A revolutionary electronic eye implant has enabled people who lost their vision due to an age-related and previously untreatable condition to read again, marking a major advance in artificial vision technology.

The miniature implant, called Prima, measures just 2mm by 2mm and is thinner than a human hair. It is placed beneath the retina the light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the eye and allows users to see letters, numbers, and even full words through an eye that was once completely blind.

Experts have described the results as a ‘paradigm shift’ in restoring sight and believe the innovation could one day be available through the NHS.

With the help of this prosthetic vision, patients have regained the ability to perform daily activities such as reading books, identifying small print on medicine bottles, and even solving crosswords.

Dr Mahi Muqit, senior vitreoretinal consultant at Moorfields Eye Hospital and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, called the technology life-changing. He said that for years, patients with this form of blindness were told that nothing could restore their sight a response that has now been transformed by this development.

The results of a clinical trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that 84% of participants using the Prima implant could recognize letters, numbers, and words. On average, patients were able to read up to five lines on a vision chart a significant improvement, given that some could not see the chart at all before implantation.