Science Corporation Implants Vision-Restoring Chip in First Patient With Stargardt Disease

Hodak, a former president and co-founder of Neuralink, argued that retinal implants should be considered part of the wider field of brain-computer interface technology.

“The retina is part of the central nervous system,” he said. “We consider cochlear implants, retinal prostheses, motor prostheses, these are all different types of BCIs.”

According to Hodak, brain-computer interfaces could eventually serve a much wider range of medical purposes than simply enabling people to control computers.

A potential treatment for an incurable eye disease

PRIMA is already commercially available in Europe for patients who have lost their sight because of geographic atrophy, an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration. Science Corporation believes the technology could also help people with other conditions, including Stargardt disease, which currently has no cure.

Stargardt disease affects the outer retina, where light-sensitive cells gradually die. The inner retina, which transmits visual signals to the brain, may remain relatively intact. As a result, patients develop a blind spot in their central vision that gradually expands over time. An estimated 150,000 people worldwide have lost their vision because of the condition.

Hodak explained that the device works by taking advantage of the electrical nature of visual processing.

“The brain’s a computer, vision is electrical potential, like electrical activity down the optic nerve,” he said. “That’s all vision is to the brain, and so if you can get the optic nerve to signal the rest of the brain correctly, then you can provide vision to it.”

How the PRIMA implant works

According to Science Corporation, the first patient with Stargardt disease received the implant in May as part of an ongoing clinical trial at Sydney Eye Hospital in Australia. During his first rehabilitation session, the patient was able to see a letter. At the second session, he managed to read a word.

The implantation procedure takes approximately one hour. Doctors place a tiny chip at the back of the eye, in the area where photoreceptors have degenerated. Patients then wear glasses equipped with a camera, which captures images of the surrounding environment and transmits visual information to the implant. The chip effectively replaces some of the function of the damaged photoreceptors.

The device implanted in the first patient measures just 2 by 2 millimeters. Its capabilities remain limited, however, providing a small area of central vision rather than a broad field of view or color vision.

“It is not a big field of view color vision,” Hodak explained. “It’s a patch in their central vision where … it’s black and white, but it is sharp. It’s high-contrast sharp, and so they can see a couple letters at a time.”

The next development goal is to expand the field of view. This will require a larger implant that can accommodate the curvature of the eye, as well as smaller electrodes capable of delivering more detailed visual information.

Hodak said the company is already working on a next-generation device that could be tested in humans within the next year. Over the following five years, he expects the technology to approach natural visual acuity.

From restoring sight to developing brain-computer interfaces

Hodak founded Science Corporation in 2021 after leaving Neuralink, with plans to develop advanced neural engineering and brain-computer interface technologies. The company is initially focusing on restoring vision in people with visual impairments, aiming to demonstrate that its approach works and establish a sustainable business.

Its broader BCI ambitions involve a different type of implant. Unlike Neuralink’s device, which is inserted directly into brain tissue, Science Corporation has said its sensor will be placed inside the skull, resting on the surface of the brain.

The technology could eventually be used to monitor neural activity and potentially support patients with neurological conditions, including brain tumors.

Hodak said the company is preparing to pursue an initial clinical application involving a neurodegenerative disease, although it has not yet publicly disclosed which condition it will target. Stroke is another area of interest.

He suggested that future devices could potentially establish connections between different deep-brain regions, opening up possibilities for restoring or creating neural pathways that conventional electrodes cannot currently achieve.

In the longer term, the company aims to understand how the brain generates the mind and explore the engineering of artificial brain systems.

Hodak also predicted that brain-computer interfaces could eventually become more common as people age. Although Science Corporation is not developing its technology specifically for healthy people in their 40s, he believes that some people may need BCI technology by the time they reach their 60s or 70s.

“We want to figure out how do we extend not just lifespan but health span,” he said.