Woman who lost vision can read again after pioneering eye implant trial

A woman who was losing her sight is now able to read again after taking part in a world-first study.

Sheila Irvine was one of the UK patients included in a clinical trial to test a bionic eye implant known as PRIMA.

The device helps those with geographic atrophy (GA), an advanced stage of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), to read and write again.

An ultra-thin microchip - the size of a SIM card - was inserted beneath the centre of Ms Irvine's retina, a procedure which takes around two-hours.

She now wears augmented-reality glasses with a video camera, which the chip uses to beam information to a pocket computer.

For more than 15 years, Sheila lived with near-total blindness caused by the eye condition. She says her world was reduced to "two black discs".

"I was an avid bookworm, and I wanted that back", Sheila explained.

Now, after becoming one of the first people in the UK to receive the pioneering eye implant, she's able to enjoy reading once again.

"I'm definitely enjoying reading again, it takes you into another world", she said.

Ms Irvine was diagnosed with AMD more than 15 years ago but says she has not let the condition stop her life.

She said: “At first, I noticed I couldn’t judge things when I was driving – I kept hitting the pavement. I was told I had age-related macular degeneration.

“I cried all day long when I sent my driving licence back over 15 years ago, but then I said to myself, ‘move on and get on with things’.

Ms Irvine said she took part in the trial to help people in the future, and can now do crosswords and read the ingredients on tins thanks to the pioneering technology.

“I wanted to take part in research to help future generations, and my optician suggested I get in touch with Moorfields,” she said.

“Before receiving the implant, it was like having two black discs in my eyes, with the outside distorted."

Ms Irvine said she felt no pain during the operation, which took place in 2022.

“I was nervous, excited, all those things,” she added. “There was no pain during the operation, but you’re well aware of what’s happening.

“It’s a new way of looking through your eyes, and it was dead exciting when I began seeing a letter. It’s not simple learning to read again, but the more hours you put in, the more I pick up.”

“The team at Moorfields have given me challenges, like ‘look at your prescription,’ which is always tiny,” she said.

“I like challenging myself, trying to look at the little writing on tins, doing crosswords.

“It’s made a big difference. Reading takes you into another world, I’m definitely more optimistic.”

Sheila had to relearn how to interpret vision through intensive rehabilitation over several months.

The glasses' video camera captures images and projects them as infrared beams onto the chip, with artificial intelligence algorithms converting the information into electrical signals that her brain interprets as sight.

"It's a new way of looking through your eyes," Sheila says. "It's not simple, learning to read again, but the more hours I put in, the more I pick up".

Sheila is one of 38 patients across five countries to participate in the landmark trial.

The sight of 84% of people with a form of geographic atrophy was restored after being fitted with the device.

Mahi Muqit, senior vitreo-retinal consultant at Moorfields Eye Hospital said: "In the history of artificial vision, this represents a new era".

He added: "Blind patients are actually able to have meaningful central vision restoration, which has never been done before.

"Getting back the ability to read is a major improvement in their quality of life, lifts their mood and helps to restore their confidence and independence".