This Telescope Goes INSIDE the Eye

These are exciting times for folks worried about Age Related Macular Degeneration. New medications can now halt, reverse, or prevent the progression of their disease.

Unfortunately, it is too late for these innovative treatments to help many of those already afflicted.

People suffering with advanced ARMD have lost much of their central vision - the eyesight needed for driving and reading. Bleeding and scarring destroys the delicate retinal tissues inside the central (macular) portion of the retina. Now there is hope for these folks, too.

Imagine an optical system that enlarge the image so that it extends beyond the damaged macula. That is what a telescope does. For decades hand- held telescopes have aided low vision patients to improve their reading and mobility. Telescopes, however, are not for everyone. They can be cumbersome and difficult to operate.

Now, what if a miniature telescope could be permanently implanted inside the eye - just like an intraocular lens implant after cataract surgery?

VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies has created such an implantable telescope.

The prosthetic telescope, together with the cornea, acts as a telephoto system to enlarge images up to 3X magnification. The telephoto effect allows images in the central visual field to be focused outside the damage zone to other healthy areas of the central and peripheral retina. This generally helps reduce the 'blind spot' impairing vision in patients with ARMD, hopefully improving their ability to recognize images that were either difficult or impossible to see.

The prosthetic telescope is implanted by an ophthalmic surgeon in an outpatient surgical procedure. The device is implanted in one eye, which provides central vision as described above, while the non-implanted eye provides peripheral vision for mobility and navigation. After the surgical procedure, the patient participates in a structured vision rehabilitation program to maximize their ability to perform daily activities. Because it is situated inside the eye, the device allows patients to use natural eye movements to scan the environment and reading materials.

Results of a clinical study involving 217 volunteer patients who received this miniature intraocular telescope revealed a three-line visual improvement in two-thirds of study participants. The authors concluded that the implantable visual prosthesis can improve visual acuity and quality of life in patients with moderate-to-profound visual impairment caused by severe AMD.


Related Links: Macular Degeneration 101, Exercise Can Protect Eyesight

Technorati Tags: ARMD, eyedisease, eyesight



REFERENCE: Hudson HL, Lane SS, Heier JS, et al. Implantable miniature telescope for the treatment of visual acuity loss resulting from end-stage age-related macular degeneration: One-year results. Ophthalmology 2006.