A patient with a rare hereditary retinal disease was able to distinguish a letter and subsequently read an entire word following the implantation of an electronic device into his eye. Max Hodak—founder of the American firm Science Corporation and a former member of the team that created Neuralink—reported the initial results from trials of the “PRIMA” system.
The surgery took place in May at the Sydney Eye Hospital in Australia. The man was the first patient with Stargardt disease to receive such a chip. During his first rehabilitation session, he was able to perceive an individual letter, and by the second session, he was already able to read a full word, as reported by TechCrunch on October 13.
Stargardt disease causes the gradual destruction of the retina’s light-sensitive cells, leading to the loss of central vision. However, other structures within the eye—those responsible for transmitting signals to the brain—often remain functional. The PRIMA technology is built upon this principle.
The implant itself is a tiny, two-by-two-millimeter square, which is placed beneath the retina during a surgical procedure lasting approximately one hour. The patient then wears specialized glasses equipped with a camera that transmits images to the chip. The device effectively serves as a partial replacement for the damaged light-sensitive cells.
Nevertheless, this cannot be described as a full restoration of sight. At present, the patient can only perceive a small, black-and-white portion of an image—enough to distinguish several letters at once, but insufficient for a conventional, full-scale perception of the world.
Science Corporation aims to gradually expand the field of view and improve image clarity. According to Hodak, the company plans to begin human trials for a new generation of implants within the next year; looking ahead, the developers hope that within five years, the quality of this artificial vision will approach that of natural sight. For now, this remains a company projection rather than a confirmed outcome. The PRIMA technology is already being used in Europe for patients who have lost their vision due to geographic atrophy—a late-stage, age-related retinal disease. Researchers are now investigating whether it could also help in cases of Stargardt disease. Data from a single patient is not yet sufficient to draw conclusions about the efficacy and safety of this method for everyone with such a diagnosis.
The work being done by Science Corporation builds on research that has already demonstrated the potential for partial vision restoration through the use of electronic implants. As reported by Life.ru on October 20, 2025, a clinical trial of the PRIMA system showed vision improvement in 81% of participants with late-stage age-related macular degeneration. The technology works by transmitting images from a camera mounted on specialized glasses to a miniature chip implanted beneath the retina.
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