Mini inflatable telescope can help those with macular degeneration

August 31, 2010

U.S. health officials have approved a technology used to combat the symptoms of macular degeneration, an incurable disease that causes damage to the eye's retina, according to The New York Times.

The technology, which is the first of its kind, consists of a tiny telescope that is implanted inside the eyeball. It hopes to help alleviate the vision problems that occur during the end stages of macular degeneration.

At this time those suffering from the disease would have to use a clunky telescope that is mounted to one's glasses. However, the new technology, known as an Implantable Miniature Telescope, is smaller than a pea.

"I feel like a young woman," Ruth Boocks, a patient who received the transplant, told the news source. "It's opened a lot of opportunities for me."

The FDA conducted a study of 219 individuals suffering from macular degeneration who received the implant. Of that group, 90 percent demonstrated some vision improvement, and 75 percent went from severe to moderate vision impairment, the news source reports.

According to the American Optometric Association, age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss among adults over the age of 50.