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Science Corp Unveils Breakthrough Retinal Implant Restoring Vision for Legally Blind Patients

Science Corporation, a biotech startup launched by a Neuralink cofounder, claims that it has achieved a breakthrough in brain-computer interface technology that can help patients with severe vision loss.

How the Prima Device Works

In preliminary clinical trials, legally blind patients who had lost their central vision received the company’s retina implants. The devices restored their eyesight and even allowed them to read books and recognize faces, the startup announced last week.

“To my knowledge, this is the first time that restoration of the ability to fluently read has ever been definitively shown in blind patients,” CEO Max Hodak, who was president of Neuralink before founding Science Corp, said in a statement.

The device, called Prima, is a small, photovoltaic chip that is surgically implanted under the retina. It works together with a special pair of glasses equipped with a built-in camera that projects visual data into the eye chip using invisible, near-infrared light.

When the near-infrared rays reach the chip’s photovoltaic arrays, they both power the device and convert the transmitted data into electrical signals. These signals stimulate the remaining retinal neurons, sending information to the brain and delivering rudimentary eyesight.

Acquisition and Industry Context

Science Corp acquired the technology behind Prima from Pixium Vision earlier this year. Prior to the acquisition, the future of similar retinal implants appeared uncertain, as promising companies in the field such as Second Sight ceased operations, leaving their blind patients without support.

Progress in the sector continues. In September, Neuralink received a “breakthrough device” designation from the Food and Drug Administration for its “Blindsight” brain implant. Elon Musk claims—without supporting evidence—that the system will “enable even those who have lost both eyes and their optic nerve to see.” The technology remains years away from completing clinical trials.

2026 Clinical Trial Results

Science Corp’s latest clinical trial, whose findings have not yet been published as a peer-reviewed study, involved 38 patients with geographic atrophy, a form of central vision loss caused by age-related macular degeneration (AMD)—the leading cause of visual impairment among older adults.

All participants received Prima implants. Results varied but proved encouraging: some patients gained the ability to read strings of letters, while others could read extended passages from books and even complete crossword puzzles. On average, patients achieved visual acuity of 20/160 after one year in the trial, although five individuals experienced no improvement.

Limitations and Expert Perspective

While Prima offers an advantage over earlier devices by restoring “form vision” that allows patients to distinguish shapes, Hodak told Wired that it does not provide color images. The company also did not disclose how often patients needed to use the zoom function to make text readable.

“It’s a step forward for retinal prostheses, for sure. But there are some details we don’t know that could tell us how big of a step it is,” James Weiland, an ophthalmologist at the University of Michigan who was not involved in the research, told Wired. “And one of those details is whether the patients were using a magnified image when they recognized these letters.”

These caveats remain important, yet the overall results are encouraging.

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