Eye Telescope

Implantable Eye Telescope Aids those with Macular Degeneration.

By Steve Johnson

FDA Approval Diagram

The eye telescope is the first of a kind implantable eye for people with an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration. This device is aimed at about 750,000 people in the United States who have the most severe and untreatable form of the disease, which causes a blind spot in the center of their vision.

This innovation has the potential to provide many people with an improved quality of life. Getting the FDA’s approval is a big moment for device which is been in development for more than a decade.

People 75 and older with untreatable forms of age-related macular degeneration can get the eye telescope. The device is about the size of the pea and contained in a capsule. It magnifies vision by 2.2 to 2.7 times, depending on which model is used. The device projects visual images away from the damage macula and onto the surrounding healthy retinal tissue. It is placed in one eye only, since the patient’s other eye is needed for peripheral vision.

What does the eye telescope do? It projects images of objects away from the eyes damage macular onto healthy retinal tissue.
What will eye telescope cost? That will be determined after Medicare decides how much of the cost it will cover.
How is eye telescope implanted? During outpatient surgery. It is implanted behind the colored portion of the eye known as the iris after the patient’s own lens is removed.
Who can get this device? Right now the limit for this telescope is to people that are 75 years old and older, whose diseases progressed to a severe state.

In 2006 the FDA did advise it not to be approved because of concerns about its usefulness and safety. But after more studies were taken the panel unanimously gave the device its blessings. Even though most of the approximately 8,000,000 people suffering from the disease in this country won’t qualify to be treated with a device advocates for patients suffering from the ailment welcomed the FDA’s approval.

Facts About the Eye Telescope.

Even the director of a macular degeneration support group that was founded by a man that actually was diagnosed with the illness says, the eye telescope needs to be given a chance. Anything that is going to give the patients better site until we have a cure, anything that is going to give hope needs to be looked at. Noting that most of the patients suffer from age-related macular degeneration this is really good news to our folks here.

The ailment, which primarily afflicts the elderly, damages the center of the retina or macula which is the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. The result is deteriorated site in the center of the visual field, causing blurriness and eventually an inability to recognize faces, read or watch television.

In a study involving more than 200 patients implanted with the device, the FDA said, 75% improve their level of vision from severe or profound impairment to moderate impairment. Although the device is approved for people with advanced wet or dry age-related macular degeneration, patients need to consult with a specialist and be tested to determine whether they are good candidates for the surgery.

In some cases, the eye telescope implantation can distort the corneas clarity, the FDA said. As a result, the federal agency is requiring the companies to conduct follow-up studies on patients outfitted with an eye telescope. The price has not been set yet because that will depend on how much Medicare will agree to cover.