New eye implant makes reading books possible

A new technology eye implant tested on a group of eye patients in London is enabling patients to read again.

A surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London enabled patients to see again by inserting a microchip behind the eyes of five patients. While this new treatment aims primarily to improve the condition of patients suffering from age-related vision impairment, the fact that a patient who was completely blind was able to read with the implant has provided hope for the visually impaired.

In this new treatment method, a 2 mm chip, the thickness of a human hair, is placed under the retina. Patients then wear glasses equipped with a camera. The camera sends images to the implant behind the eye using infrared light. The implant then sends these images to a processor to sharpen them. The images are then sent back to the patient's brain via the implant and optic nerves, allowing the patient to regain a degree of vision.

Of the 32 patients who received the implant, 27 were able to read again using their central vision. This technology offers hope to more than 250,000 people living in the UK and five million patients worldwide suffering from age-related vision impairment by providing them with meaningful vision that they can use in their daily lives, such as for reading and writing.

Translation: Öykü Naz Büyüksipahi