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I, implanted an artificial eyeball, but the company that made it went out of business

Terry Byland lost his vision in both eyes at the age of 45 due to a rare genetic disease. After 11 years of hopelessness in the dark, in 2004, Terry was one of the first testers of Argus I, the tech company Second Sight's bionic eye product, implanted in his right eye. Eleven years later, Terry had the second-generation Argus II implanted in his left eye.

By Norma NoldoPublished 2 years ago 5 min read
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Image via pexels

Terry Byland, as the first visually impaired person in the world to have bionic eye implants in both eyes, Terry plays the role of the spokesperson of Second Sight to some extent. Over the years, he has given media interviews, participated in industry conferences, and spoke eloquently about how Second Sight's products gave him a second life—and, of course, sincerity.However, the countdown to Terry's day of seeing the light of day has come. With Second Sight going bankrupt, the bionic eyes of Terry and more than 350 other visually impaired people have been left unattended and will soon become a pile of scrap metal in their bodies, and the terrifying darkness will soon come again.

01. Great technology and bad companies

In 1991, electrical engineer Robert Greenberg was invited to participate in a scientific experiment on patients with retinal degeneration: the surgeon placed a thin, electrified wire close to the patient's retina, and the patient "sees" a spot of light; two With the wire, the patient "sees" two spots of light. This inspired Robert to set up Second Sight in 1999.

Second Sight's bionic eye uses the same principle. It doesn't cure the patient's disease. Instead, it uses a tiny camera on the glasses to capture images, which are then converted into electrical signals that are sent to the retina, where the brain can interpret these electrical signals as A light signal that allows the patient to "see" some shades of gray of varying brightness. Depending on the patient's constitution, some people can tell the difference between bright and dark lights, and some can even play darts.

In 2002, the first-generation product Argus I began clinical testing. In order to implant a bionic eye with 16 electrodes in patients like Terry Byland, an operation requires four surgeons to work for eight hours. Clinical testing was successful, but for various reasons, Argus I was not commercialized.

In 2007, the Argus II with 60 electrodes passed the clinical test, and in 2011 and 2013, it was approved by the European CE and the US FDA, and was officially launched into the market. The commercial version of the Argus II has reduced surgery time to 4 hours, is covered by multiple insurance programs, and has had more than 350 implants despite the total cost of surgery and maintenance of $500,000.

Image via pexels

After Argus II was launched, Second Sight continued to invest in R&D to enhance image clarity and give patients the opportunity to see color. However, the revenue from sales of products cannot support the high R&D and operating expenses, and the new crown epidemic has made it worse. In June 2021, Second Sight struggled to go public. After the stock price plummeted rapidly, Second Sight finally announced in February 2022 that it would merge with the biopharmaceutical company Nano Precision Medical (NPM) and turn to the research and development of implant technology related to drug delivery systems. None of the original executive team took office in NPM management. . Ultimately, Second Sight had no choice but to notify its customers, ending all updates and support for the Argus implant hardware.

For users who have implanted Second Sight products, there is no other way but to accept this result reluctantly. However, what is sadder is that they are also faced with a more difficult choice: whether to take out the artificial eyeball?

If you take it out immediately, you will return to the dark world, and you will have to bear the cost and risk of surgery; if you continue to use it, it will always have a service life, and the electronic eye that loses after-sales and service will strike at any time.

Some people couldn't bear to lose the light again and started looking for other alternatives, while others decided to keep the status quo after learning about the cost and side effects of taking out Argus. Whichever path is chosen, the pain of these 350 people will be on their own and likely will last a lifetime. One Argus II implanter, Jeroen Perk, had a broken video processor, and he had to crowdfund parts to try and fix the device; another, Ross Doer, had a brain tumor, but doctors couldn't get Argus II. Information about the implant, can't give him an MRI

02. Technology changes life and can also subvert life

Failure is an inevitable stage in the development of science and technology. The breakthrough of Second Sight in the past ten years should not be obliterated. Its failure also acts as a stepping stone for more similar companies in the future, but it ended in a sloppy way for users. The mess really makes people feel sad and helpless. Among technological innovations in various fields, medical innovations in particular need to be cautious, and once an accident occurs, it will bring a huge blow to users.

American company ReVision Optics was founded in 1996. Its product, Raindrop, is a small corneal inlay. By implanting Raindrop to change the shape of the front of the cornea, ReVision Optics can help myopic patients improve their vision. Although the company has obtained the support of many investment institutions and pharmaceutical companies, and successfully launched the product to the market, the biocompatibility problem of the inlay material has not been solved, and some patients experienced rejection after Raindrop was implanted. In the end, the FDA required no more Raindrop implants, and ReVision Optics closed its doors in 2018. In order to avoid possible rejection, some patients had to choose to remove the Raindrop corneal inlay.

Tech products can change lives, but tech companies are not monolithic. The development of the company has its ups and downs, as well as involuntarily helpless actions. Many scientific and technological achievements that we see and use today may be survivors who have experienced a great success. Before them, there were many product developers. And users have paid a lot of effort to make a successful product shine on the shoulders of giants.

We are grateful to those who are keen on invention and creation, and also to those who dare to be the first to eat crabs. They are the unsung heroes in the history of technological innovation and development.

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About the Creator

Norma Noldo

I mainly write introductions about new technologies, long and short stories, and occasionally some personal experiences. Follow me if you like!

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