Recent studies have explored the use of an implantable prosthetic device — an implantable miniature telescope — for end-stage age-related macular degeneration. While the device has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, physicians have described a recommended surgical technique to ensure proper product placement while minimizing damage to the eye. Their technique is published in the August issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.
AMD is the leading cause of irreversible visual impairment and blindness among persons aged 60 and older. With the elderly population steadily growing, the burden related to this loss of visual function will increase. “At the very end stages of this disease, vision is very poor and quality of life is compromised,” said Lead Author Kathryn Colby, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Joint Clinical Research Center at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. “An implantable miniature telescope can improve the vision and quality of life for patients, but surgeons must be very careful in implanting it.”
The implantable telescope has completed two years of follow-up in a pivotal multicenter trial. In this phase 2/3 clinical trial, 206 patients received the telescope prosthesis implant. One-year outcomes showed that 67 percent of eyes with the implant achieved a three line or greater improvement in best-corrected distance visual acuity, as indicated by reading an eye chart, compared with 13 percent of the fellow eyes in control patients. Meaningful improvements in quality of life measurements were also shown.
Surgical implantation of this device is challenging, the authors wrote. It is critical that surgeons not view this first-of-a-kind device as simply a larger intraocular lens, like that used to replace the lens in cataract surgeries. The paper describes the recommended surgical technique, based upon the results of the clinical trial and will be a useful resource for ophthalmic surgeons when the device is approved for use.
The authors of the paper include Dr. Colby, David Chang, M.D., University of California, San Francisco; Doyle Stulting, M.D., Ph.D., Emory Vision Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; and Stephen S. Lane, M.D., Associated Eye Care, Stillwater, Minn. This device is being developed by VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies, Inc.
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