Treatment of blindness by chip implantation in Germany

Treatment in Germany of blindness by implanting an eye chip returns your sight!

Ophthalmologists at the Munich Eye Clinic have implanted a retinal prosthesis in a blind patient. The high-tech combination of a retinal chip, a mini-camera built into a pair of glasses and a small computer unit allows the patient to partially restore his sight.

Retinal prosthesis brings light to darkness

For the 50-year-old patient, the operation literally brought light into the darkness. The implantation of the retinal prosthesis was performed by the team of Prof. Chris Lohmann at the Department of Ophthalmology of the Rechts der Isar at the Technical University of Munich.

The patient regained the ability to perceive visual images of light, thus can move around in daily life not as dependent as before.

The dream of ophthalmology

The patient suffers from a retinal disease, terminal retinitis pigmentosa. The first symptoms first appeared in adolescence and the patient has been almost blind for about five years.

In retinitis pigmentosa, the photoreceptors of the retina, which are responsible for the perception of light impulses, slowly die off. The patient’s visual acuity decreased increasingly, leading to complete blindness.

In Germany, around 40,000 people suffer from retinal degeneration — in Bavaria alone, the number of patients is over 6,000.

In the spring of 2017, Prof. Chris Lohman, director of the ophthalmology clinic, performed a surgery to implant a retinal prosthesis that lasted approximately two and a half hours. After an initial healing phase, the system was activated for the first time a few weeks later. Prof. Lohmann: «Once the system was activated, the patient immediately recognized the location of windows and doors and could easily navigate the room. For me, as an ophthalmologist, my professional dream is to restore the basics of visual experience to a blind person».

Visual perception using electrical stimulation

The retinal prosthesis system consists of three parts:

• a retinal chip implanted in the eye, about the size of half a small fingernail;
• a tiny camera built into a pair of goggles;
• of the mini-computer unit that the patient has in his pocket.

The camera takes pictures of the environment and sends the data to a computer unit. There they are converted into electrical impulses and transmitted to a wireless chip on the patient’s retina. The chip transmits the signals to the rest of the retinal cells and stimulates them. The cells then send visual information to the brain via the optic nerve. The patient must first practice after surgery to interpret the newly perceived visual patterns. Therefore, the surgery is followed by a rehabilitation phase that aims to restore functional vision.

The patient recognizes houses, lines, and steps

«I heard about this implant with my daughter on the radio, and I was very excited about the opportunity», the patient reported. «I was very hopeful that I would gain independence in my daily life after the prosthetic retina implantation and be able to have visual experiences with my surroundings again. This hope has come true for me».

Meanwhile, a 50-year-old man can recognize shapes and lines. For example, he sees houses, streets, steps and can navigate better. In addition to his newfound independence, he also enjoys visual experiences, for example, he likes to see his children again.

In order to find out if you can have surgery, you need to be examined by Prof. Lohmann.

Cost of services

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