Retinal implant restores central vision in patients with advanced AMD, study co-led by Pitt investigator shows

(Press-News.org) PITTSBURGH, October 20, 2025 – A wireless retinal implant can restore central vision in patients with advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to clinical trial results published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Advanced atrophic AMD, also known as geographic atrophy (GA), is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in older adults, affecting more than 5 million people worldwide. 

 

The international, multi-center trial was co-led by José-Alain Sahel, M.D., director of the UPMC Vision Institute, Daniel Palanker, Ph.D., professor of ophthalmology at Stanford University, and Frank Holz, M.D., professor of ophthalmology at the University of Bonn, Germany. 

 

Of the 32 participants who completed 12 months of follow-up, 26 (81%) achieved clinically meaningful improvements in visual acuity, and 27 participants (84%) reported using prosthetic vision at home for reading numbers or words. On average, participants improved by 25 letters — about five lines — on a standard eye chart when using the device. 81% of participants gained 10 or more letters. 

 

“It’s the first time that any attempt at vision restoration has achieved such results in a large number of patients,” said Sahel, senior author of the study and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “More than 80% of the patients were able to read letters and words, and some of them are reading pages in a book. This is really something we couldn’t have dreamt of when we started on this journey, together with Daniel Palanker, 15 years ago.” 

 

As AMD progresses, the center of vision becomes increasingly blurry due to the irreversible damage to the light-sensing cells in the central part of the retina. In a healthy retina, those cells capture ambient light from the environment and transform it into pulses of electricity, which are then sent to nerve cells lining the back of the eye and, eventually, to the brain through the optic nerve.  

 

The PRIMA system, originally designed by Palanker, replaces these lost photoreceptors with a 2×2 mm wireless implant that converts light into electrical signals to stimulate remaining retinal cells. A camera mounted on specialized glasses captures images and projects them onto the implant using invisible near-infrared light. The implant then converts the light into electrical pulses, restoring the flow of visual information to the brain. Patients can adjust zoom and contrast settings to enhance functional vision. 

 

The PRIMAvera trial enrolled 38 participants aged 60 and older at 17 sites across five European countries: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.  

 

After one year of using the system, all procedure-related adverse events had subsided, and the majority of participants showed significant improvement in their ability to read letters on the eye chart. One participant improved by as many as 59 letters, or 12 lines. 

 

“While we can’t yet restore full 20/20 vision with the implant alone, at UPMC we are investigating methods that could further improve people’s quality of life and take them above the threshold for legal blindness,” Sahel said.  

 

Based on the results of the new study, the device manufacturer, Science Corporation, has applied for clinical use authorization in Europe and the United States. UPMC was the first U.S. center to implant the PRIMA device in 2020 in a study led by associate professor of ophthalmology Joseph Martel, M.D. 

 

Other authors of the study include investigators at The University of Bonn; The Adolphe de Rothschild Foundation Hospital and The 15-20 National Eye Hospital, Paris; Moorfields Eye Hospital, London; and University of Rome Tor Vergata, among others.  

 

The study was financed by Science Corporation, Alameda, Calif., (previously Pixium Vision SA, Paris, France). 

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About the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine 

As one of the nation’s leading academic centers for biomedical research, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine integrates advanced technology with basic science across a broad range of disciplines in a continuous quest to harness the power of new knowledge and improve the human condition. Driven mainly by the School of Medicine and its affiliates, Pitt has ranked among the top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health since 1998. In rankings released by the National Science Foundation, Pitt is in the upper echelon of all American universities in total federal science and engineering research and development support. 

Likewise, the School of Medicine is equally committed to advancing the quality and strength of its medical and graduate education programs, for which it is recognized as an innovative leader, and to training highly skilled, compassionate clinicians and creative scientists well-equipped to engage in world-class research. The School of Medicine is the academic partner of UPMC, which has collaborated with the University to raise the standard of medical excellence in Pittsburgh and to position health care as a driving force behind the region’s economy. For more information about the School of Medicine, see www.medschool.pitt.edu. 

 

About UPMC    

UPMC is a world-renowned, nonprofit health care provider and insurer committed to delivering exceptional, people-centered care and community services. Headquartered in Pittsburgh and affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, UPMC is shaping the future of health through clinical and technological innovation, research, and education. Dedicated to advancing the well-being of our diverse communities, we provide nearly $2 billion annually in community benefits, more than any other health system in Pennsylvania. Our 100,000 employees — including more than 5,000 physicians — care for patients across more than 40 hospitals and 800 outpatient sites in Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland, as well as overseas. UPMC Insurance Services covers more than 4 million members, providing affordable, high-quality, value-based care. To learn more, visit UPMC.com. 

  

www.upmc.com/media 

 

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