Ray Flynn is 80 years old and the disease had already left him sightless. After the operation, he uses an artificial retina, which converts the video images received from a video camera installed into glasses, informs BBC.
Specifically, the images on the camcorder are transformed into electrical impulses transmitted wirelessly to a number of electrodes attached to the retina. Electrodes stimulate cells that are still in the retina, which send information to the brain.
Flynn is still in the adjustment period, but he hopes that, due to the implant, his vision will be so sharp that he can garden and even go shopping.
His implant is of the Argus II type, made in the USA by the company Second Sight, and has been used so far to restore the vision of patients who have gone blind due to a rare condition called retinitis pigmentosa. However, it has not been used on any patient suffering from macular degeneration, an extremely common disease that occurs as we age.
In the UK alone, the patient’s home country, this disease affects at least half a million people.
The man had reached the stage where he could no longer use the card for shopping, because he could not distinguish the numbers, to enter the PIN. In addition, he says, “I was a skilled gardener, but I could no longer distinguish flower weeds.” In order to be able to watch TV, he had become extremely close to the device.
The operation he underwent lasted four hours and was performed by surgeon Paulo Stanga, from Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, a professor at the University of Manchester. “I think it’s the beginning of a new era for patients who lose their sight,” he said.
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During a test two weeks after the operation, the patient was able to distinguish with his eyes closed the vertical lines from the horizontal and diagonal ones, shown on a screen.
However, with the help of the implant, the details are not visible. Over time, however, patients can learn to interpret images more and more effectively.
One such an implant costs £ 150,000, the amount that includes the treatment. Currently, several patients are in a study at a Manchester hospital, receiving free treatment and implants.
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