Mission: Second Sight, located in Sylmar, California, was founded in 1998 to create a retinal prosthesis to provide sight to patients blinded from outer retinal degenerations, such as Retinitis Pigmentosa. Through dedication and innovation, Second Sight's mission is to develop, manufacture and market implantable visual prosthetics to enable blind individuals to achieve greater independence.

Device: The device consists of a tiny camera and transmitter mounted in eyeglasses, an implanted receiver, and an electrode-studded array that is secured to the retina with a microtack the width of a human hair. A wireless microprocessor and battery pack worn on the belt powers the entire device.

The camera on the glasses captures an image and sends the information to the video processor, which converts the image to an electronic signal and sends it to the transmitter on the sunglasses. The implanted receiver wirelessly receives this data and sends the signals through a tiny cable to the electrode array, stimulating it to emit electrical pulses. The pulses induce responses in the retina that travel through the optic nerve to the brain, which perceives patterns of light and dark spots corresponding to the electrodes stimulated. Patients learn to interpret the visual patterns produced into meaningful images.

Second Sight’s first generation Argus 16 implant consists of a 16 electrode array and a relatively large implanted receiver implanted behind the ear. The second generation Argus II is designed with a 60 electrode array and a much smaller receiver that is implanted around the eye.

Company: Second Sight is a privately held company and receives substantial financial support from the U.S. federal government.

Second Sight is grateful for the forward thinking of the National Institutes of Health/National Eye Institute and the Office of Science at the Department of Energy in supporting significant aspects of this work. Currently, Second Sight is conducting two FDA approved investigational device studies. If you or someone you know may be interested in participating in one of these trials, please go to the Patients page for additional information.

Caution: Investigational Device
Limited by United States law to investigational use only.