FDA Approves Implantable Telescope To Help Patients With AMD

FDA has approved a first-of-its-kind technology to counter a leading cause of blindness in older adults -- a tiny telescope implanted inside the eye.
The Implantable Miniature Telescope aims to help in the end stages of incurable age-related macular degeneration, although the FDA warned Tuesday that patients need post-surgery rehabilitation to make it work.

Dr. Malvina Eydelman, FDA's ophthalmic devices chief, said the device can improve the quality of life for those who are 75 and older, have a certain degree of vision loss and who also need a cataract removed. In addition, the FDA took the highly unusual step of requiring that patients and their surgeons sign a detailed 'acceptance of risk agreement' before surgery, acknowledging potential side effects -- including corneal damage and worsened vision -- and the need for lots of testing to determine who's a candidate.

The benefits of the telescopic implants are numerous, such as:

1. Improving the central vision acuity of patients.

2. Can be used in combination with drugs to treat macular degeneration and photodynamic thepray. The use of anti-hypertensive and anti-angiogenic drugs to treat wet advanced macular degeneration, a condition in which ocular arteries leak inside the eye, include ranibizumab and bevabizumab which can cost upto $2,000 per treatment. Ideally, these prosthetic implants will be offered to patients who have undergone photodynamic therapy to destroy "leaky" blood vessels of the eye before this implant can be made in one eye.

3. It may be more cost effective to use these telescopic implants for the treatment of both dry and wet age related macular degeneration over time compared to the continual, protracted and expensive use of drugs. With time, the dosage and use of these drugs can be reduced once the damaged tissue is healed and the implant has been placed in one of the affected eyes.

"The telescope implant represents a new category of treatment for this severely visually impaired population," said Allen W. Hill, CEO of VisionCare.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Implantable Miniature Telescope for Macular Degeneration (healthmad.com)
• FDA Approves VisionCare's Implantable Miniature Telescope (medgadget.com)
• Telescopic Eye Implants Magnify Life, Help People See Again [Telescopiceye] (gizmodo.com)

Posted in: Conditions and Diseases, Food and Drug Administration, Health, Macular Degeneration, Retina, Vision loss