Second Sight Medical Products Inc (NASDAQ:EYES) reported market entry into South Korea, as the company implanted “Argus® II” in two patients in Seoul. The implants were supported by the nation’s exclusive distribution associate, Kisantech Co., Ltd. Another surgical procedure in Taiwan was supported by Orient Europharma Co., Ltd., the company’s exclusive distribution associate for Taiwan.
The details
Will McGuire, the CEO of Second Sight, reported that these implants represent significant milestones in the firm’s measures to expand its footprint in Asia. With the company’s entry into South Korea, and also with another implant done in Taiwan, the company is continuing with its objective to bring Argus II to blind individuals across the globe. The management look forward to treating more people throughout Asia in the imminent months.
The two surgical procedure in South Korea were done by Young Hee Yoon, MD in the month of May and June at the Asan Medical Center in 54 and 56-year-old people with Retinitis Pigmentosa. Another implant in Taiwan was carried out by Dr. Shi-Jen Chen in the month of April at Taipei Veterans General Hospital in an old individual suffering with retinal degeneration. As previously reported, the first Argus II surgery in Taiwan was carried out by Dr. Yih-Shiou Hwang in a 40-year old individual with retinal degeneration.
Second Sight’s Argus II offers electrical stimulation that go around the non-operational retinal cells and stimulates remaining viable cells bringing visual perception in people with severe-to-profound Retinitis Pigmentosa. The system works by converting images taken by a miniature video camera fixed on the patient’s eyeglasses into a sequence of small electrical pulses, which are sent wirelessly to a group of electrodes placed on the retina’s surface of the retina.
These pulses stimulate the remaining cells of the retina, intending to lead in the perception of light patterns in the brain. The subject must learn to understand these visual patterns, having the prospect to recover some visual function. The Argus II was the initial artificial retina to get widespread approval, and is provided at approved centers in Germany, Italy, Canada, France, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, United Kingdom, and the United States.
