Retina chip restoring sight now on sale in Europe
▼ Summary
– Science Corp’s Prima implant, a chip placed at the back of the eye paired with special glasses, has received regulatory approval for sale in 30 European countries.
– The chip restores some sight by converting near-infrared light from the glasses into retinal signals, including a zoom feature to magnify letters.
– In a clinical trial of 38 patients, the implant allowed 84% to read again, with an average gain of 25.5 letters on an eye chart, though it is not a cure.
– This marks the first commercial device from a US brain-implant company to reach patients widely, with Science Corp valued at $1.5 billion and led by former Neuralink co-founder Max Hodak.
– The first commercial patient is expected in Germany in August, with a US market launch anticipated next year pending FDA approval; the price in Europe remains unset.
The worst form of age-related macular degeneration, known as geographic atrophy, slowly erases the center of a person’s vision. Faces become indistinct. Letters on a page disappear. There is no cure, only therapies that delay the inevitable decline. Now, a tiny retina chip is restoring some of that lost sight for patients in Europe.
California-based Science Corp has announced that its Prima implant is now commercially available across the continent. The device is a small chip positioned at the back of the eye, working in tandem with a specialized pair of glasses. These glasses beam near-infrared light to the chip, which then converts the light into signals the retina can interpret. A built-in “zoom” feature allows users to magnify text. The company secured a CE mark from the notified body DEKRA, as reported by Bloomberg, granting clearance for sale in 30 European countries.
This milestone carries weight beyond medicine. It marks the first time a U. S. brain-implant company has brought a device to a wide patient population. And the firm achieving this is not the most famous one. Science Corp is the second most valuable U. S. brain-implant company, trailing only Elon Musk’s Neuralink. Founder Max Hodak helped launch Neuralink before leaving to build his own venture. “This is the first in hopefully a long series of commercial products that proceed to advance that horizon, sometimes incrementally, but relentlessly,” Hodak said in an interview.
The critical word here is commercial. Brain-implant companies have run clinical trials for years. Selling a device to everyday patients represents an entirely different challenge.
What the chip can and cannot do
The trial supporting the approval was modest in size but striking in results. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, it tracked 38 patients across 17 sites in five countries. On average, participants gained 25.5 letters on a standard eye chart, equivalent to more than five lines of vision. An impressive 84% could once again read letters, numbers, and words. Still, this is not a cure. Geographic atrophy from AMD affects over five million people worldwide. But for many, the Prima implant offers a genuine return of function. Science Corp has raised $489 million at a valuation of $1.5 billion.
Europe first, America later
The rollout strategy reveals a clear geographic focus. Science expects its first commercial patient in August, likely in Germany, followed by dozens more this year and roughly 200 in 2026. The U. S. market will come later. The company is working with the Food and Drug Administration and hopes to launch stateside next year. Prima already holds FDA Breakthrough Device and Humanitarian Use Device designations, both designed to fast-track high-need, narrow treatments.
Meanwhile, China has designated brain technology a national priority and cleared its own first implant. The global race is attracting billions in investment. The science that restores sight is arriving. The next question is where you can buy it and what it will cost. For now, the answer is straightforward: Europe, with the price still unannounced.
(Source: The Next Web)
