There are over 285 million people worldwide who suffer from vision problems. Everyone has cataracts by the age of 80, resulting in serious vision issues. However, every year introduces new advances in science and technology that enable us to combat these issues, and now, individuals with vision problems may have new hope.
According to a recent press release from a bioelectronics company, they received the HealthTech Award 2020 for its Prima System, which is a next-generation bionic vision technology developed to allow vision for blind people.
With its bionic vision device, Pixium Vision SA won the award for “Best Product/Deal”. The title was given out at the MedTech Forum 2021, and it honors Europe’s most advanced innovators in next-generation healthcare technology. It is coordinated by the NOBEL Project, with MedTech Forum serving as the host. In a press release, Pixium Vision CEO Lloyd Diamond said, “We are incredibly proud to earn this HealthTech Award 2020 for the pioneering work being carried out with the Prima System.”
Pixium Vision is a cutting-edge company that combines rapid developments in microelectronics, visual processing, intelligent software algorithms, and neurobiology to create bionic vision systems capable of interacting with machine brains and artificial intelligence(AI). The aim is to use technology to compensate for severe vision loss or retinal degenerative diseases, thus improving the autonomy, independence, and overall standard of life of blind people.
As of this writing, there have been 285 million visually disabled people in the world, and 39 million blind. 200 million people with vision disorder have AMD, and 365,000 people are diagnosed with AMD every day. This is why the current research on the new Prima Vision system is a significant step forward in the treatment of dry AMD.
For those who have lost their sight, Pixium Vision is developing a world of bionic vision, allowing them to regain sensory awareness and greater autonomy. The bionic vision systems from Pixium Vision include a surgical procedure and a period of recovery. The Prima System sub-retinal miniature photovoltaic wireless implant is currently being tested in clinical trials for patients who have lost their vision due to outer retinal degeneration, primarily for atrophic dry age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD).
Stanford University in California, Institute of Ocular Microsurgery (IMO) in Barcelona, Institut de la Vision in Paris, University hospital in Bonn, Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, and UPMC in Pittsburgh, PA are among Pixium Vision’s academic and research partners working on this life-changing project.
The Prima System is a photovoltaic photoreceptor substitute that allows individuals with atrophic dry age-related macular degeneration to use both central prosthetic and peripheral natural vision at the same time (AMD). Although the technology is still in progress, it is being tested in the pivotal PRIMAvera trial. The research started in late 2020 with the aim of confirming the Prima System’s protection and benefits. This is the last clinical phase before the latest bionic vision technology is approved for sale in Europe.
Paris, France, April 7, 2021 – 7.00 a.m. CEST – The first patient in Pixium Vision SA’s PRIMAvera pivotal trial of its bionic vision Prima System for atrophic dry age-related macular degeneration has been successfully implanted (AMD).
“The first successful implantation in the PRIMAvera pivotal trial is a significant step forward for the Prima System and patients with dry AMD. Dr. Yannick Le Mer, Deputy Head of Vitreo-Retinal Unit at Fondation Adolphe de Rothschild Hospital in Paris and the study’s Coordinating Investigator, said, “The Prima System has shown very encouraging results so far, and I am looking forward to seeing confirmation of these life-changing effects in dry AMD.”
The PRIMAvera research is based on promising results from a French feasibility study that demonstrated the Prima System’s ability to increase visual acuity in patients with dry AMD. Patients improved their vision significantly, achieving a logMAR of 0.5 on average (corresponding to 5 lines improvement).
PRIMAvera is an open-label, multi-center, prospective, baseline-controlled, nonrandomized, single-arm confirmatory trial that will enroll 38 patients. The major outcome is the percentage of subjects with a logMAR 0.2 or greater increase in visual acuity from baseline to 12 months, and the major safety endpoint is the amount and severity of system and procedure-related severe adverse effects at 12 months. The research will be followed for three years, with the major endpoints being assessed at 12 months after implantation.
Bionic vision has the potential to transform the lives of blind people. According to promising results published in a French feasibility review, patients with dry-eye AMD saw a significant improvement in vision with the Prima System. Patients may use both the Prima System-generated prosthetic central vision and their remaining peripheral vision at the same time, according to the latest report.
With no proven cure for blindness, victims of severe vision loss are known to suffer from depression, lose tens of billions of dollars, and die prematurely. Pixium Vision reported that they are incredibly close to offering viable therapies for one of history’s oldest human challenges: blindness, by developing a synthetic alternative to naturally-grown healthy eyes.
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