Jeroen Perk is one of three Dutch people with a bionic eye from Second Sight, an American company that makes a chip that allows blind people to see again. Perk learned when he was 11 years old that he has retinitis pigmentosa, which caused him to slowly lose his sight. In the end, Perk went completely blind.
Until in 2013, he had the ‘Argus II’ implanted, a bionic eye. Suddenly he could see images of about 60 pixels again. “You can’t read letters with it, although there may be people who can. I can now distinguish contrasts, such as the difference between light and dark. This allows me to see zebra crossings, for example. I can also observe the movements of people “, he tells Bright.
Technology has changed his life. “During a concert I could see the lights on stage. That was a beautiful experience. It’s a miracle when you can go from nothing to something. It’s a bit of pioneering.”
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It could be over at any moment
More than 300 customers worldwide have a retinal implant from Second Sight. But in 2020, shortly after the start of the corona pandemic, things went wrong. Customers were told that the company was in financial trouble and that the service would no longer be supported. Although most implants still work, something could go wrong at any moment, after which the Argus II would be beyond repair.
“I talked to Second Sight and they said they wouldn’t be able to supply any more stuff. If the parts I have now break, I can’t get new ones. There’s also no support for patients anymore. In the beginning it was take a breath,” says Perk.
It wouldn’t be the first time something went wrong for him. For example, his Vision Processing Unit (VPU) broke in 2020, causing his implant to no longer work. “I then had to look for things myself from contacts in Europe. For example, I ended up with a surgeon who still had a VPU. I also received a system from another patient. With the help of Henk Stam and Serge Koning from Bartiméus got the VPU up and running again.” As a result of the move, Perk now has two glasses and two VPUs, but those won’t last forever either.
People with the Argus II can go again afterwards go blind† In addition, implants left behind could cause medical complications, or interfere with other procedures such as MRI scans.
Perk says it’s not that bad. “You can just have that chip removed because it is above the retina. But that is not necessarily necessary. You could also leave it in. If there are no medical problems, it is not in the way.”
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Looking for something new
It is not possible to use Second Sight’s chip with technology from other manufacturers. “That chip in my eye can’t just function with another camera or glasses. That’s why I’m actually already looking at other parties that could be attractive.”
Perk has pinned his hopes on other companies. “If my Argus stops working and I find a project I can join, I would definitely make that choice. For example, there is a company called Bionic Vision that is developing retinal implants.” Bionic Vision’s technology was called ‘a breakthrough’ by US regulators last week mentioned.
In the Netherlands, scientists are busy developing a brain chip that should give the blind some sight again. According to Pieter Roelfsema, the director of the Brain Institute in Amsterdam, can even display that chip up to about a thousand pixels. That’s still pretty rudimentary, but for people like Perk, who can only perceive 60 pixels so far, that’s a huge step forward.
Roelfsema hopes to be able to implant the technology in the first people around 2023 or 2024. While the technology is promising, brain implants require more dangerous surgery. “Well, that’s still in the future,” says Perk.
Until he finds a new candidate, Perk says he has no negative feelings towards Second Sight. “It’s business and it can happen that a company stops. But I believe in the future of technology.”
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