Bionic Vision shows improved performance in restoring vision
Bionic Vision Technologies – the company developing our Bionic Eye Vision System which is a collaboration between us, The Centre for Eye Research Australia, The Bionics Institute, The University of Melbourne and The Australian National University – announced recently the interim results of a pilot study involving four patients with late-stage Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) implanted with a visual prosthesis designed to improve awareness of external objects and patient surroundings.
Results presented during the 38th annual JP Morgan Conference in San Francisco demonstrated improved combined performance of all six functional vision tests at 44 weeks of active use of the device.
“These outcomes represent a significant milestone for Bionic Vision Technologies and give hope to many patients who have lost their sight due to late-stage RP,” said Ash Attia, CEO.
“Based on these positive results, BVT intends to initiate a worldwide clinical trial for the commercialization of our Gen3 device which will offer improved performance and usability as well as a streamlined external design, similar to the appearance of traditional eyeglasses.”
Of all mobility tests conducted, the most significant improvement in this cohort was observed with the Primary Obstacle Avoidance Task, which relies on participants identifying obstacles in their pathway. At 44 weeks, patients detected 74.3% of obstacles when the device was turned on, compared to only up to 4% of obstacles when the device was turned off.
Considerable improvement was also recorded for the Location Task which relies on study participants identifying and touching an object similar to the shape of a window on a wall. At 44 weeks, subjects were able to locate and touch the window 70.3% of the time when the device was turned on, compared to only up to 24.4% of the time when the device was turned off.
Person wearing bionic eye technology showing all the parts that make up the implant and how it works. Inset image also shows a scan of the actual implant from both the top and side view. Top view reveals part of the inside of the eye with the a section of the implant visible. Side view shows the implant position in relation to the structure of the eye. Source: Bionic Vision Technologies.
Research and implementation of new vision processing algorithms to improve the results for people using visual prosthesis will continue.
Our highly skilled team of world class researchers and engineers is open to partnerships and collaborations for research, development, and commercialisation.
Contact us to learn more.