Bionic eye’ returns sight to two men after over 20 years of blindness

By STEPHEN MCGINTY

TWO blind men have regained partial sight for the first time in more than 20 years after becoming the first in Britain to be fitted with a “bionic eye”.

Scientists said the first clinical trials of the microchip eye implant, which measures just 3mm across and is fitted behind the eyeball, have proved successful and “exceeded expectations”.

Eye experts developing the pioneering new technology said the first group of British patients to receive the implants were regaining “useful vision” just weeks after undergoing surgery, with one of them describing dreaming “in vivid colour” for the first time in 25 years.

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 that they were also able to locate white objects on a dark background.

The digital chip operates when light falls on a sensor which is then converted into an electrical signal which is then picked up by nerves and transmitted to the area of the brain that processes images and where it converts the light into grainy black and white images.

The patients have been able to see the rough outline of shapes with doctors hoping that, in the future, once their brains have adjusted they will be able to recognise faces.

The patients will undergo further testing as they adjust to the 3mm by 3mm device in the coming months. 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.

Mr Millar, a 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.”

The technology has been in clinical trials for more than six years with testing also taking place in Germany. Developers are now planning to seek commercial approval.

The other Briton to have the implant was Chris James, 54, of Wroughton, Wiltshire.

It has given him rudimentary vision which allows him to see the outline of shapes, but he is having to “learn” to see again after two decades without vision. He is counting the days until he can finally see his wife Janet, 64, who he married seven years ago.

He said: “This is not a cure, but it may put the world into some perspective. It’ll give me some imagery rather than just a black world.”

Ten more British sufferers will be fitted with the devices as part of the 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.

The pair said: “The visual results of these patients exceeded our expectations.”