Second Sight Announces Successful Implantation and Activation of Wireless Visual Cortical Stimulator in First Human Subject - Seite 2

Dr. Nader Pouratian, the UCLA neurosurgeon who performed the surgery, added, "Based on these results, stimulation of the visual cortex has the potential to restore useful vision to the blind, which is important for independence and improving quality of life."

This implant was performed as part of a proof of concept clinical trial whose purpose is to demonstrate initial safety and feasibility of human visual cortex stimulation. The initial success of this study, coupled with the significant additional pre-clinical work gathered to-date readies Second Sight to submit an application to the FDA in early 2017 to gain approval for conducting an initial clinical trial of the complete Orion I system, including the camera and glasses. Assuming positive initial results in patients and discussions with regulators, an expanded pivotal clinical trial for global market approvals is then planned.

About Second Sight 

Second Sight's mission is to develop, manufacture and market innovative implantable visual prosthetics to enable blind individuals to achieve greater independence. Second Sight has developed and now manufactures and markets the Argus® II Retinal Prosthesis System. Enrollment has been completed in a feasibility trial to test the safety and utility of the Argus II in individuals with Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Second Sight is also developing the Orion™ I Visual Cortical Prosthesis to restore some vision to individuals who are blind due to causes other than preventable or treatable conditions. U.S. Headquarters are in Sylmar, California, and European Headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland. For more information, visit http://www.secondsight.com.

About the Argus® II Retinal Prosthesis System 

Second Sight's Argus II System provides electrical stimulation that bypasses the defunct retinal cells and stimulates remaining viable cells inducing visual perception in individuals with severe to profound outer retinal degeneration such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The Argus II works by converting images captured by a miniature video camera mounted on the patient's glasses into a series of small electrical pulses, which are transmitted wirelessly to an array of electrodes implanted on the surface of the retina. These pulses are intended to stimulate the retina's remaining cells, resulting in the perception of patterns of light in the brain. The patient then learns to interpret these visual patterns, thereby regaining some useful vision. The system is controlled by software and is upgradeable, which may provide improved performance as new algorithms are developed and tested. Therefore current and future Argus II users may benefit from the continuously improving technology. The Argus II is the first artificial retina to receive widespread approval, and is offered at approved centers in Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.