Second Sight Medical Products, Inc. recently reported the first successful implantation and activation of a wireless visual cortical stimulator in a human subject, providing initial human proof of concept for the ongoing development of the Company's Orion™ I Visual Cortical Prosthesis.
The study was reportedly conducted at UCLA and featured a 30-year-old patient who was implanted with a wireless neurostimulation system on the visual cortex. Upon testing, the patient was reportedly able to perceive and localize individual spots of light with no significant adverse side effects.
According to Second Sight, the Orion I works by bypassing the optic nerve to directly stimulate the visual cortex, and has the potential to restore useful vision to patients completely blinded due to glaucoma, cancer, diabetic retinopathy or trauma.
Second Sight reportedly plans to submit an application to the U.S. FDA in early 2017 to gain approval for conducting an initial clinical trial of the complete Orion I system, including the camera and glasses.
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Source: Second Sight Medical Products, Inc.