Implantable eye telescope approved for use in patients

Updated at: 2333 PST, Saturday, July 10, 2010 NEW YORK: A miniature telescope that is implanted in the eye to solve sight problems has been approved for use in the US. The new device is for people with an irreversible, advanced form of macular degeneration in which a blind spot develops in the central vision of both eyes. The telescope replaces the eye’s nature lens and can provide an image that is magnified by almost three times. The device then magnifies and projects the images onto a healthy portion of the retina. The firm behind the telescope claims that it will help patients suffering from end-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease which is the leading cause of vision loss in the US. It can only be used in one eye because the other is needed for peripheral vision. Patients who receive the telescope will need rehabilitation to help retrain their brain to merge the views from the two eyes into a single image. It is intended for patients 75 and older with severe vision impairment caused by blind spots and clinical tests found that for 75 per cent saw an improvement in their eyesight. The drugs watchdog, the FDA, said that the telescope’s size might mean that patients will also need a corneal transplant after the operation. Wet AMD is caused by abnormal growth of blood vessels around the eye, and can be treated by stopping the growth of a natural protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The firm behind the telescope, VisionCare, must now carry out two further studies, following up existing patients and beginning a study of 770 new patients. Each telescope will cost $15,000.