A revolutionary bionic retinal implant procedure has been performed in Hawaii by a team at the Eye Surgery Center of Honolulu. The surgery is the first of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region and will help restore vision for the blind.
The team of medics, led by Dr. Gregg T. Kokame, carried out the innovative procedure on March 24, 2015. Dr. Mark Humayu, Prof. of Ophthalmology at the University of Southern California (USC) Eye Institute, Los Angeles, CA, who is the co-inventor of the groundbreaking Argus II implant was also present for this important event.
This recent procedure comes 2 years after the world’s first bionic eye implant. It was performed by Bionic Vision Australia researchers in Melbourne at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital with an an early prototype of bionic eye.
The Eye Surgery Center of Hawaii is a surgery center specialized in ophthalmology and it focuses exclusively on the surgical treatment of the eye in Hawaii and the Asia-Pacific region. The center, which is a portfolio of company SKAI Ventures, has eighteen eye surgeons who perform extremely complicated eye surgeries.
“We are excited to bring this life-changing technology to Hawaii residents and to the Asia-Pacific region. As the leading center of excellence for vision surgery, we hope to help people with retinal blindness throughout the region,” comments Dr. Hank Wuh, CEO of SKAI Ventures.
The “bionic eye,” called Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System (Argus II), is the first approved device designed to restore some functional vision for those suffering from blindness. The Argus II, created at USC, has shown extraordinary clinical results to help patients with retinal blindness gain a form of artificial vision in able to see.
Argus II is approved for use in the United States, but also in most European countries and the Middle East.
The fact that Argus II novel vision-restoring device was implanted at the Eye Surgery Center of Hawaii is a first for the Asia-Pacific region. This procedure has been performed in the United States, but also in Australia and Europe before. The Eye Surgery Center of Hawaii is also only the second center in the western US to perform the procedure, after USC.
The doctors have scheduled more retinal bionic transplants at the Honolulu Center.
Image Source: The Silver Link
