Long-Term Results of VisionCare's Implantable Telescope for End-Stage Macular Degeneration Published in the American Journal of Oph...( - Report shows three-line average vi...),Health

- Report shows three-line average visual acuity improvement maintained at

two years -

SARATOGA, Calif., Nov. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies, Inc., a developer of advanced visual prosthetic devices for individuals with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), today announced that the American Journal of Ophthalmology (AJO), a premier peer-reviewed medical journal, has published two-year results from the Phase II/III IMT002 trial showing substantial visual acuity improvement in End-Stage AMD patients. The study device, a first-of-kind implantable telescope, has received CE Mark approval in Europe and is currently investigational and under regulatory review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The publication details the two-year safety profile of the device and found rates of cornea endothelial cell loss, while higher than conventional small-incision anterior segment eye surgery, were consistent with anterior segment procedures employing more similar incision sizes required for telescope implantation.

"The published data show improved visual acuity in end-stage AMD patients that was maintained over two years -- a three-line improvement that we have previously shown makes a real impact on our patients' independence and quality of life," said Henry L. Hudson, M.D., lead author for the IMT002 study and retina specialist at Retina Centers, P.C. in Tucson, AZ. "These findings are important because vision loss from end-stage AMD profoundly affects both the daily activities and social well-being of many older Americans."

"The data presented in AJO confirm the effectiveness of the AMD telescope prosthesis and the long-term safety profile of the device," stated R. Doyle Stulting, M.D., Ph.D., professor of ophthalmology at Emory University in Atlanta and study coauthor. "Key indicators of corneal health and diagnostic verification of device placement substantiate earlier findings that ri
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