Article Content Reading a book, greeting a friend or family member with a smile, pouring a cup of coffee, walking across the street… These are all tasks that most of us take for granted. They are such simple actions, but for millions of people across the globe, these basic parts of everyday life are threatened by end-stage AMD, or Age-Related Macular Degeneration. However, a new micro-optical technology is now becoming available to help improve their quality of vision and of life.
AMD develops slowly, affecting the macula of the eye-the center of the retina, and causes a blind spot to form in the center of vision, which eventually makes it impossible to recognize faces, identify text, or complete many other tasks. Those who suffer from the condition-mainly elderly people-number around 8 million in the U.S., with nearly 2 million already experiencing significant vision loss, according to the National Eye Institute.
However, there is hope on the horizon, visible by means of an “implantable miniature telescope” (IMT) created by VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies Inc. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the device in 2010, but it took a bit longer to become commercially available, meaning only recently have doctors begun to conduct the first surgeries to implant the tiny miracles.
The device is inserted-that's right-directly into a person's eyeball. The pea-size telescope replaces the eye's natural lens, creating an image for the patient that is magnified by two or three times that of normal vision. This reduces the effect of the blind spot as the larger image is projected in greater extent onto the healthy portion of the retina. Unfortunately, the damaged macula cannot actually be repaired with this procedure, but the aim is to teach the eye to use the healthy parts of the retina to counterbalance the damaged cells.
After surgery, patients are not immediately able to see all details, but must undergo six to eight weeks of visual rehabilitation training. During this rehabilitation, the brain learns to put together images projected on the retina from both eyes, one with an IMT and one without. While the patient's vision is not perfectly corrected, with the IMT it is possible for them to identify faces and objects that were previously unrecognizable due to AMD.
The telescope itself consists of an artificial lens like the natural lens of the eye, which supports and surrounds an inner microlens system. Inside the microlens system are two very small, wide-angle, high-power lenses that work together to produce a magnified image on the retina.
Most recently, the surgery has been performed successfully for the first time in both Virginia and Florida. In Virginia, William H. Benson, M.D., a cornea specialist and chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, completed the procedure this April. The Florida operation was completed in February by Sarasota Neuro-Ophthalmologist Marc H. Levy, MD, at Sarasota Memorial Hospital's outpatient Cape Surgery Center.
Suzanna Brooks joined Mouser Electronics in 2011 as a Technical Content Specialist and writes web content about the newest embedded and optoelectronic products available. Suzanna holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and is a private pilot.
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