The Journal of mHealth Vol 1 Issue 2 (Apr 2014) | Page 25

'Bionic Eye' Treatment Paving the Way for Artificial Sight

PSSAG will make a recommendation
to UK Ministers, who will then need
to consider the recommendations and
consult on them with NHS England.
If the treatment is included in the
specialised services definition, it will
be commissioned by NHS England
rather than individual Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). In this case,
NHS England will develop a service
specification and agree on a process for
selecting providers.
NHS England will be considering a
number of proposals for new services
and these will be prioritised at a meeting of NHS England’s Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) later in
the year.
Robert Greenberg, MD PhD, President
and Chief Executive Officer at Second
Sight, says: “We very much hope that
patients in England will soon be able
to experience the life changing benefits
from our prosthesis already enjoyed by
RP patients elsewhere in Europe and in
the USA. The UK has been instrumental in the clinical research of the Argus
II.”
“The Argus II has been available and
reimbursed for patients in Germany and
Italy for the past two years, and has just
become reimbursed for patients in the

USA. The reimbursement approval for
Argus II proves how important this
technology is for the patients affected
with blindness from the untreatable
orphan disease - retinitis pigmentosa.”

LIFE-CHANGING RESULTS
In 2009 Keith Hayman was one of the
first patients in the UK to receive an
Argus II Retinal implant at Manchester Royal Eye hospital, the procedure
undertaken by Professor Paulo Stanga,
was conducted as part of a clinical trial
system, due to ѡ