DGAP-News: Retinal Prosthesis Helps Blind Subjects Detect Motion
(firmenpresse) - Second Sight Medical Products Inc.
11.10.2012 14:21
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New Study Shows That the Argus(R) II System Improves Performance on a Spatial
Vision Task
SYLMAR, Calif., 2012-10-11 14:21 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
A study recently published online, and set to be issued in the February print
edition of the peer-reviewed journal, Archives of Ophthalmology, demonstrated
that the Argus(r) II Retinal Prosthesis System (Argus II - Manufactured by Second
Sight Medical Products Inc.) enabled a majority of blind participants,
implanted with the device, to identify the direction of moving objects better
with the Argus II on than off. This journal article is the latest in a series
of publications that shows that the Argus II restores some visual function to
patients blinded by retinitis pigmentosa (RP), and that this function
translates into real benefits in everyday life. Last month, an FDA Ophthalmic
Devices Advisory Panel voted unanimously that the probable benefit of the Argus
II outweighs the risks to health, clearing the way for regulatory approval in
the US. The Argus II system has been approved for use in the European Economic
Area and is on the market in several European countries since last year and
remains the only approved retinal implant anywhere in the world.
'The publication of our research in the leading peer-reviewed journal of the
American Medical Association reinforces the work our team has done to restore
meaningful vision to retinitis pigmentosa Patients,' said Robert Greenberg, MD,
PhD, President and CEO of Second Sight Medical Products, Inc. 'These results,
and other data from the Argus II clinical trial, continue to give new hope to
people with retinitis pigmentosa.'
RP is an inherited retinal degenerative disease that often results in nearly
complete blindness due to photoreceptor cell death, and affects roughly 100,000
Americans and nearly twice that many in Europe. The Argus II system works by
converting video images captured by a miniature camera, housed in the patient's
glasses, into a series of small electrical pulses that are transmitted
wirelessly to an array of electrodes on the surface of the retina in order to
stimulate the remaining cells in the retina. In this study, the users looked at
a monitor with a white bar sweeping across a black screen, which resulted in
the corresponding stimulation of electrodes on the array and perception of
patterns in the visual cortex.
'We found that most of the study participants were better able to determine the
direction of the bar when using Argus II than without it,' Dr. Greenberg said.
'In other words, this system gave most blind people the ability to identify an
object's direction of motion -- something they could not do before.'
Second Sight Medical Products, Inc., located in Los Angeles, California, was
founded in 1998 to create a retinal prosthesis to provide sight to patients
blinded from outer retinal degenerations. European headquarters are in
Lausanne, Switzerland. For more information, go to www.2-sight.com.
The Second Sight Medical Products Inc. logo is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=15156
CONTACT: Second Sight Medical Products Inc.
Brian Mech, Office: 1-818-833-5026, Mobile: 1-661-910-0774
bmech(at)2-sight.com
News Source: NASDAQ OMX
11.10.2012 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP -
a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
DGAP's Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements,
Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de
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Language: English
Company: Second Sight Medical Products Inc.
United States
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ISIN: US9902302374
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End of Announcement DGAP News-Service
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Datum: 11.10.2012 - 14:21 Uhr
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