{"id":2667,"date":"2025-10-25T15:26:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T08:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/museum.pctu.com.vn\/?p=2667"},"modified":"2025-12-12T10:23:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T03:23:27","slug":"the-worlds-first-bioengineered-eye-transplant-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/museum.pctu.com.vn\/index.php\/language\/en\/2025\/10\/25\/the-worlds-first-bioengineered-eye-transplant-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"The World\u2019s First Bioengineered Eye Transplant (2015)"},"content":{"rendered":"

A team of surgeons in Manchester<\/strong>, northern England, successfully performed the world\u2019s first bioengineered eye implant surgery<\/strong> for Ray Flynn<\/strong>, an 80-year-old patient who had completely lost his central vision due to dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD)<\/strong>\u2014the most common cause of blindness in developed countries.<\/p>\n

Flynn is now using a retinal implant<\/strong> that converts video images from a tiny digital camera mounted on his glasses. Thanks to this implant, he is able to see white lines on a computer screen. Flynn expressed excitement and hope that his vision would continue improving, allowing him to resume everyday activities such as gardening and shopping.<\/p>\n

The implant\u2014called Argus II<\/strong>, manufactured by Second Sight Medical Products Inc.<\/strong> (USA)\u2014was originally developed to restore vision in patients blinded by the rare condition retinitis pigmentosa<\/strong>.
The surgery at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital<\/strong> is the first Argus II implantation in the world<\/strong> for a patient with dry AMD, a condition affecting at least 500,000 people in the UK<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Before surgery, Flynn still retained peripheral vision but had completely lost central vision. He explained:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t use my bank card in shops or at the bank. I couldn\u2019t pull weeds in the garden. Even sitting close to the TV, I still couldn\u2019t see anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

His four-hour operation was performed by Professor Paulo Stanga of Manchester Royal Eye Hospital. According to Dr. Stanga:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cRay Flynn\u2019s vision is improving. He can now see outlines of people and objects. It is fair to say the procedure has been a success.\u201d<\/p>\n

How the Bioengineered Eye Works<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The implant receives visual information from the miniature digital camera on the patient\u2019s glasses.
These images are converted into electrical signals and transmitted wirelessly to a 60-electrode array<\/strong> implanted in the retina.
The electrodes stimulate the remaining retinal cells, which send visual information to the brain.<\/p>\n

Two weeks after the surgery, Flynn could already distinguish horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines<\/strong> on a computer screen.
To confirm that his vision came from the camera\u2013implant system rather than his natural eyesight, Flynn was asked to keep his eyes closed during testing.<\/p>\n

Although the implant does not provide detailed vision, early studies show that it can help patients recognize door frames and the outlines of objects<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Four additional dry AMD patients are scheduled to receive the implant at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital as part of a clinical trial.
The Argus II device costs around \u00a3150,000<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The trial is being conducted by the Manchester Clinical Research Facility<\/strong>, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)<\/strong> and the Wellcome Trust<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Cathy Yelf, Chief Executive of the Macular Society, stated:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThese results are extremely encouraging, and we are closely following the progress of the clinical trials. This research may lead to a truly useful device for people who have lost their central vision.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

According to Dr. Stanga:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cDry AMD is common and currently untreatable. In Western countries, it is the leading cause of vision loss.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The charity Fighting Blindness<\/em> estimates that over 30 million people worldwide<\/strong> suffer from dry AMD, which accounts for 85% of AMD cases<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Second Sight is now developing the third-generation bioengineered eye<\/strong>, which they believe may one day allow patients to recognize faces.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A team of surgeons in Manchester, northern England, successfully performed the world\u2019s first bioengineered eye implant surgery for Ray Flynn, an 80-year-old patient who had completely lost his central vision…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73,47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-global-healthcare","category-uncategorized-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/museum.pctu.com.vn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/museum.pctu.com.vn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/museum.pctu.com.vn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museum.pctu.com.vn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museum.pctu.com.vn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2667"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/museum.pctu.com.vn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2667\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2668,"href":"https:\/\/museum.pctu.com.vn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2667\/revisions\/2668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/museum.pctu.com.vn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museum.pctu.com.vn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museum.pctu.com.vn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}