Argus™ II Retinal Prosthesis System for Treating Blindness from Retinal Disease Approved for Sale in Europe
March 5, 2011
We have previously reported on blind patients regaining vision using the Argus II Retinal Prothesis System (“Argus II”) from Second Sight Medical Products.
The exciting news is that Second Sight announced earlier this week that Argus II was approved for sale in the European Economic Area (EEA) after a successful clinical trial involving more than 30 blind patients around the world, and a thorough review of the product’s safety and performance by an independent expert body.
The Argus II is the first approved treatment commercially available for blindness for people suffering from advanced retinal degenerative diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP).
As explained by Second Sight, the Argus II is an implantable device that converts video images captured from a miniature camera, housed in the patient’s glasses, into a series of small electrical pulses that are transmitted wirelessly to an array of electrodes on the retina. These pulses then stimulate the retina’s remaining cells resulting in the corresponding perception of patterns of light in the brain. Patients learn to interpret these visual patterns thereby gaining some functional vision.
Click here for the full press release issued by Second Sight.
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