A groundbreaking clinical trial has restored partial vision to 26 of 32 patients using a revolutionary combination of retinal implants and smart glasses. Published today in The New England Journal of Medicine, the study represents the most successful vision restoration technology to date, with patients able to read books and complete crossword puzzles after losing central vision to macular degeneration.
Science Corporation just delivered what researchers are calling "amazing" results in the quest to restore sight. The brain-computer interface company's retinal implant system helped 26 out of 32 patients regain functional vision after a full year of testing, marking an 80% success rate that's unprecedented in the vision restoration field.
The breakthrough centers on patients with age-related macular degeneration, a progressive disease that destroys central vision by killing retinal cells. Unlike other forms of blindness, macular degeneration leaves patients with peripheral vision intact but robs them of the ability to read, recognize faces, or perform detailed tasks.
Science Corporation's solution combines a 2-by-2-millimeter implant made of tiny photovoltaic solar panels with camera-equipped smart glasses. The device gets surgically placed under the retina, where it receives near-infrared signals from the glasses and converts them into electrical pulses that stimulate the optic nerve. "Patients could see well enough using the technology to fill out crossword puzzles and read regular books again," researchers reported following the study's publication in The New England Journal of Medicine.
The clinical trial started with 38 patients who received the implants, though only 32 completed the full year of testing. The vision they regained isn't perfect - patients see a blurry, black-and-white version of the world - but it's functional enough to dramatically improve quality of life. Independent researchers called the work "amazing," according to The New York Times.
Behind the technology is Max Hodak, Science Corporation's founder and CEO who previously co-founded Neuralink with Elon Musk in 2016. But this isn't entirely new innovation - Science Corporation acquired the retinal implant technology from French medical device company Pixium Vision in 2024 after Pixium ran out of money following a decade of development work, as reported by IEEE Spectrum.
The acquisition represents a broader trend in the vision prosthetics industry, where promising technologies often outlive their original companies. Second Sight Medical faced a similar fate when it , only to see it rescued by another medical technology startup that allowed .