Eye Implants to Fight Progressive Blindness

September 10, 2008 | Source: Technology Review

A novel medical device that could treat eye diseases like age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa has been approved by the FDA.

Neurotech has developed a capsule that’s surgically implanted in the vitreous humor of the eye. It contains genetically engineered cells that produce a protein — ciliary neurotrophic factor, or CNTF — that may slow down the degeneration of retinal cells, thereby protecting vision.