Science Corporation implants vision chip in first Stargardt disease patient

Science Corporation Chief Executive Max Hodak announced at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference that the company has implanted its PRIMA vision-restoring chip into its first patient with Stargardt disease, TechCrunch reported. The company operates as a neural engineering firm headquartered in Alameda, California. [1][2][5]

The PRIMA system works alongside camera-equipped glasses that process and transmit visual information to the user, according to Grokipedia. The device forms part of the company's development path toward a novel brain-computer interface. [1][5]

Stargardt disease is the most common inherited single-gene retinal disease, as Wikipedia describes. It causes macular degeneration starting in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood, leading to progressive vision loss. The condition typically ruins central vision over time. [1][4]

An earlier clinical trial of the PRIMA system in patients with advanced dry age-related macular degeneration showed visual acuity improvements in about 80 percent of participants, according to Grokipedia. Science Corporation conducts its clinical trials across multiple countries as it expands testing of the hardware. [5]