DGAP-News: Second Sight Reaches Middle East: Another Major Milestone for Blind People With Retinitis Pigmentosa
(firmenpresse) - Second Sight Medical Products Inc.
06.03.2013 09:00
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
First Two Patients in Saudi Arabia Fitted With Argus(R) II Retinal Prosthesis
LAUSANNE, Switzerland, and RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, 2013-03-06 09:00 CET (GLOBE
NEWSWIRE) --
Dr. Fernando Arevalo, Adjunct Professor of Ophthalmology at Wilmer Eye
Institute (Retina Division) at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and
Chief of the Vitreo-retinal Division at King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital
(KKESH), marked an important milestone this week when a patient blinded by
Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) was implanted with an Argus II Retinal Prosthesis
(Argus II), becoming the 1st patient in the Middle East to be implanted with
sight restoring technology manufactured by Second Sight Medical Products Inc.
Dr. Saba al Rashaed, Associate Chief of Vitro-retinal Division at KKESH
performed the second case one day later. Prof. Stanislao Rizzo, vitreoretinal
surgeon and Director of U.O. Chirurgia Oftalmica, AOUP, Pisa, Italy, given his
long experience with the Argus II, assisted the cases.
'As I was implanting the first device in this area of the world I could only
think about how significant it is for blind people to recover vision, and how
many patients will benefit from some restored vision with this implant in Saudi
Arabia and worldwide,' said Dr. Arevalo.
RP is a rare, hereditary disease that causes a progressive degeneration of the
light-sensitive cells of the retina, leading to significant visual impairment
and ultimately blindness. There are an estimated 1.2 million people worldwide
with RP. Argus II is the only approved treatment for end stage retinitis
pigmentosa in the world. Second Sight's Argus II System employs electrical
stimulation to bypass the defunct cells and stimulate remaining viable retinal
cells inducing visual perception in blind individuals. The Argus II is the
first artificial retina to receive approval in Europe (CE Mark), in Saudi
Arabia, and in the USA.
Dr. Arevalo added: 'We have known of several patients who have been implanted
with the Argus II and could perceive color, future generations of Argus II
maybe upgraded to one day restore color vision for these blind patients.'
Gregoire Cosendai, PhD, Head of Europe for Second Sight: 'We are very pleased
to introduce our treatment for the blind to KKESH, the leading center for
ophthalmic patient care in the Middle East and well recognized hospital
internationally. KKESH is now offering the only treatment for blindness due to
retinitis pigmentosa and they are advancing the therapy in their clinic.
Leading ophthalmologists in the Middle East can now refer to KKESH and offer
the benefit of Argus II to their patients.'
'The patient's interest in Argus II Bionic Eye's benefits have been very
gratifying,' said Abdul-Elah Al-Towerki, MD, General Executive Director, KKESH.
'We believe that it is an essential role to provide high-quality health care
and to introduce new and improved methods of diagnosing, treating, and
preventing disease. KKESH is the centre of excellence for vision and is at the
forefront of medical innovation globally. This achievement has been made
possible by the grace of Allah, the Almighty, and through the generous ongoing
support of the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King
Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud.'
About the Second Sight Retinal Prosthesis System
The 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. These pulses are intended to stimulate the retina's remaining cells
resulting in the corresponding perception of patterns of light in the brain.
Patients then learn to interpret these visual patterns thereby regaining some
visual function. Six of the first 60 patients were implanted with a first
generation Argus I system, that was attached to an electronic implant inserted
invasively in the skull behind the ear with a wire connecting to the eye under
the skin. The last 55 patients have received the second generation Argus II
system, which is much less invasive and is implanted only in and around the
eye. Second Sight gained European approval (CE Mark) for the Argus II system in
2011 - the first and only approval of a retinal prosthesis anywhere in the
world. In February 2013, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved
Argus II.
About Second Sight
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, such as RP. Through dedication and
innovation, Second Sight's mission is to develop, manufacture and market
implantable visual prosthetics to enable blind individuals to achieve greater
independence. European Headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland. For more
information, go to www.2-sight.com.
CONTACT: Second Sight Medical Products
Maura Arsiero, PhD
publicrelations(at)2-sight.com
Tel: +41 21 693 91 01
Mobile: +41 76 570 88 70
News Source: NASDAQ OMX
06.03.2013 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
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Language: English
Company: Second Sight Medical Products Inc.
United States
Phone:
Fax:
E-mail:
Internet:
ISIN: US9902302374
WKN:
End of Announcement DGAP News-Service
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Themen in dieser Pressemitteilung:
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 06.03.2013 - 09:00 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 236414
Anzahl Zeichen: 14464
contact information:
Kategorie:
Business News
Diese Pressemitteilung wurde bisher 270 mal aufgerufen.
Die Pressemitteilung mit dem Titel:
"DGAP-News: Second Sight Reaches Middle East: Another Major Milestone for Blind People With Retinitis Pigmentosa"
steht unter der journalistisch-redaktionellen Verantwortung von
Second Sight Medical Products Inc. (Nachricht senden)
Beachten Sie bitte die weiteren Informationen zum Haftungsauschluß (gemäß TMG - TeleMedianGesetz) und dem Datenschutz (gemäß der DSGVO).
