For years, these patients’ worlds had shrunk, their central vision faded to shadows and blur. But in a modest trial room in California, a new technology brought unexpected light. When Max Hodak, CEO of Science Corporation, watched a video of a legally blind patient reading once more, he was floored. It marked a leap in restoring vision, and the promise of a breakthrough. This tiny chip implant named Prima could mean life-changing clarity for the millions whose sight has been darkened by age.
No larger than a grain of salt, the implant was developed by Science Corporation in California. This device acts as a replacement for damaged retinal cells that light up our world and define our center of sight. People with age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, know all too well the devastation of losing that central vision. It robs them of faces, the comfort of words on a page, and even the safety of seeing clearly in dim light. But Prima promises to restore a glimpse of what’s been lost — and recent trial results seem to back up this promise.
A New Vision
AMD begins quietly, as cells in the retina, which converts light into signals for the brain, start to deteriorate. Over time, this degenerative disease blurs the middle of one’s sight, making it hard to focus on letters or identify faces. For millions, these photoreceptors fade away.
The Prima implant aims to fill in that area of darkness. To picture it, imagine a set of digital glasses outfitted with a miniature camera. This device captures the world in pixels, relaying information through infrared light to the microchip implanted directly beneath the patient’s retina. Nearly 400 tiny pixels convert this incoming light into electrical signals, sending them to the brain. Suddenly, objects take shape.
Hodak, who used to be the former president of Neuralink (a startup owned by Elon Musk focused on making brain implants), marvels at what his team’s implant has achieved. “To my knowledge, this is the first time that restoration of the ability to fluently read has ever been definitively shown in blind patients,” he says.
Reading Again, Even in Dim Light
Prima has so far been implanted in 32 people who are still part of an ongoing clinical trial. They were once all legally blind. Now, thanks to this new implant, they’re seeing five extra lines on the standard eye exam chart, transforming their lives in remarkable ways. From an initial vision of 20/450 (legally blind in the US), some now read closer to 20/160. The best performers, aided by the device’s zoom and magnification feature, even reach 20/63—a visual acuity unimaginable to them before the trial.
One participant can now read from a book, play cards, and even tackle a crossword puzzle — activities that were out of reach just months ago. The ability to perceive shapes and objects isn’t the same as “natural” vision, but it’s a life-altering shift.
But Prima is still imperfect. The implant’s images are in grayscale with a yellowish tint. Patients also need to engage the zoom feature to focus on fine details. Some might find this process of “seeing” less intuitive than natural sight, but most patients adapted quickly.
A Vision for the Future
For those whose lives were once dimmed by AMD, the implant offers the rarest of things: a restoration of independence. Yet Prima’s journey isn’t over. The trial is ongoing, with researchers monitoring side effects closely. Some patients experienced minor injuries — a retinal tear, a small blood leak — each handled with care. But, like many others, this approach is not without risks.
Science Corporation knows the stakes. They hope that Prima can move forward as the first breakthrough of its kind for those who once faced permanent blindness. As Hodak hints, the early results show a “definitive” change — a restoration of the ability to read, to see, and, ultimately, regain independence.
With 20 million Americans at risk for AMD and an aging population worldwide, Prima is part of a quiet revolution in vision technology.
