失明患者に読書視力を回復させる新しい眼科インプラント(Pioneering eye device restores reading vision to blind eyes)

ad

2025-10-20 ユニバーシティ・カレッジ・ロンドン(UCL)

ユニバーシティ・カレッジ・ロンドン(UCL)とムーアフィールズ眼科病院の研究者らが参加した国際臨床試験で、電子眼インプラント「PRIMAシステム」により失明した眼で読書視力を回復させることに成功した。対象は乾性加齢黄斑変性(AMD)による地図状萎縮で失明した患者38人。装置は網膜下に埋め込む光起電型マイクロチップ(厚さ0.03mm)で、赤外線を投影するAR眼鏡と携帯型コンピュータを連動させ、AIで映像信号を処理して視覚信号として脳に伝達する。試験では84%の参加者が文字や単語を識別でき、平均で視力表5行分の改善を示した。副作用も少なく、視野の損失は認められなかった。研究はボン大学が主導し、5カ国17施設で実施。PRIMAは失明者に「読書できる視覚」を与える初のデバイスとして、今後の臨床応用拡大が期待されている。

失明患者に読書視力を回復させる新しい眼科インプラント(Pioneering eye device restores reading vision to blind eyes)

<関連情報>

AMDによる地図状萎縮の視力回復のための網膜下光起電力インプラント Subretinal Photovoltaic Implant to Restore Vision in Geographic Atrophy Due to AMD

Frank G. Holz, M.D., Yannick Le Mer, M.D., Mahiul M.K. Muqit, M.D., Ph.D., Lars-Olof Hattenbach, M.D., Ph.D., Andrea Cusumano, M.D., Ph.D., Salvatore Grisanti, M.D., Laurent Kodjikian, M.D., Ph.D., +17 , and José-Alain Sahel, M.D.
The New England Journal of Medicine  Published: October 20, 2025
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2501396

Abstract

Background

Geographic atrophy due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible blindness and affects more than 5 million persons worldwide. No therapies to restore vision in such persons currently exist. The photovoltaic retina implant microarray (PRIMA) system combines a subretinal photovoltaic implant and glasses that project near-infrared light to the implant in order to restore sight to areas of central retinal atrophy.

Methods

We conducted an open-label, multicenter, prospective, single-group, baseline-controlled clinical study in which the vision of participants with geographic atrophy and a visual acuity of at least 1.2 logMAR (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution) was assessed with PRIMA glasses and without PRIMA glasses at 6 and 12 months. The primary end points were a clinically meaningful improvement in visual acuity (defined as ≥0.2 logMAR) from baseline to month 12 after implantation and the number and severity of serious adverse events related to the procedure or device through month 12.

Results

A total of 38 participants received a PRIMA implant, of whom 32 were assessed at 12 months. Of the 6 participants who were not assessed, 3 had died, 1 had withdrawn, and 2 were unavailable for testing. Among the 32 participants who completed 12 months of follow-up, the PRIMA system led to a clinically meaningful improvement in visual acuity from baseline in 26 (81%; 95% confidence interval, 64 to 93; P<0.001). Using multiple imputation to account for the 6 participants with missing data, we estimated that 80% (95% CI, 66 to 94; P<0.001) of all participants would have had a clinically meaningful improvement at 12 months. A total of 26 serious adverse events occurred in 19 participants. Twenty-one of these events (81%) occurred within 2 months after surgery, of which 20 (95%) resolved within 2 months after onset. The mean natural peripheral visual acuity after implantation was equivalent to that at baseline.

Conclusions

In this study involving 38 participants with geographic atrophy due to AMD, the PRIMA system restored central vision and led to a significant improvement in visual acuity from baseline to month 12. (Funded by Science Corporation and the Moorfields National Institute for Health and Care Research Biomedical Research Centre; PRIMAvera ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04676854.)

医療・健康
ad
ad
Follow
ad
タイトルとURLをコピーしました