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ASKA new product just approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is offering new hope to elderly patients with end-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The implantable, miniature telescope is considered breakthrough technology to help offset the effects of AMD, which results in functional vision loss and is the leading cause of blindness in older Americans.
Anatomy of the eye
Light enters the eye through the lens, which focuses the light onto special cells in the lining of the eye which is called the retina. The portion of the retina that is responsible for seeing up-close vision in clear detail is the macula. Light is converted by the cells in the retina and macula into electrical energy that is sent to the brain through the optic nerve.
AMD defined
During macular degeneration, the cells in the macula are damaged, either by fat deposits that cause scarring (dry AMD) or by extra blood vessels that form in the area and leak fluid into the surrounding tissue which damages the retina (wet AMD). In both types of age-related macular degeneration, the damaged cells in the macula are no longer able to convert light to electrical energy. The pieces of the image that should have been converted by those cells are never sent to the brain, resulting in a black hole in the center of the visual image.
AMD is a progressive condition. Generally, a small “hole” appears in the center of vision and grows larger over time as more cells inside the eye are damaged. The outer edges of the retina, which are responsible for peripheral vision, are usually undamaged, which can result in seeing an image similar to a donut where the edges are visible but blurry and the center or donut hole is missing.
Telescopic vision
Dr. Isaac Lipshitz of VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies, Inc. developed the new, implantable telescope to combat the effects of AMD. The device consists of an actual telescope the size of a pea. During surgery, the natural lens of the eye is removed and the telescope is inserted into the capsule in the eye where the lens had been located.
Add a Comment4 Comments
this isa fantastic products
November 25, 2010 - 9:06amThis Comment
You can take a short quiz at this website to find out if you are a candidate for this procedure:
www.centrasight.com
You will need to contact CentraSight for more details and to find out whether insurance will cover the procedure. The camera is only installed in one eye, so vision in the other eye is not effected. They are based in Saratoga, California and their phone number is listed below. Good luck!
July 22, 2010 - 12:15amVisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies, Inc.
14395 Saratoga Ave, Ste 150
Saratoga, California 95070
Phone: 408.872.9393
Thank you for the information. I am so glad this was approved by the FDA. So many of our elderly have this problem and now they have hope to once again see better than they have been able to do. I hope and pray this will help some of the elderly population in the very near future.
July 22, 2010 - 7:06amWhere is the procedure done? Can a 91 year old woment have this procedure? With the risk factors can a patient loose all eye sight? Does Medicare and a secondary health insurance cover the cost?
g u4 ep
July 21, 2010 - 8:10pm