Samsara Vision, a company focused on bringing vision and freedom back to patients with late-stage, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) through advanced visual prosthetic devices, today announced the first completed SING IMT (Smaller-Incision New-Generation Implantable Miniature Telescope) procedure in China. Professor Li Xiaorong, MD, PhD, member of the Chinese Ophthalmological Society, specialist committee of the Chinese Ocular Fundus Diseases Society, and Dean of the Tianjin Medical University Eye Hospital and School of Optometry & Eye Institute, performed the first case in early July at the First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University Lecheng Hospital and is monitoring the recovery and vision rehabilitation of his patient. Samsara Vision is partnering with Lansheng Medical, a company with extensive experience introducing ophthalmic products to the China market, who is leading the registration, clinical trial requirements, surgeon acquisition and training, and sales and marketing efforts in China, Hong Kong, and Macau, with support from Samsara Vision and experienced surgeons to provide training and expert counsel.
“The surgery went well as the device is designed for ease of central insertion and we will monitor our patient’s visual rehabilitation as they learn to use their new vision,” said Prof. Li. “Many older adults in China live with central blindness caused by late-stage, age-related macular degeneration and it impacts their quality of life. I look forward to offering this procedure to future patients as we advance through clinical trials and anticipate regulatory approval in the future.”
”At Samsara Vision, we are rapidly developing a global network of providers, researchers, health systems, and advocates who are introducing our novel technology to people living with non-preventable blindness caused by late-stage AMD,” said Thomas Ruggia, President and CEO of Samsara Vision. “Our goal is for the SING IMT to be the standard of care for people who advance to late-stage AMD and we’re motivated by hearing the stories of patients resuming the activities they love. We congratulate Prof. Li and thank our partners at Lensheng Medical for their commitment to advancing our presence in China.”
SING-IMT Reaches Hundreds of People Across The European Union
Nearly one hundred surgeons in seventeen countries have implanted the SING IMT in over 350 patients, with more than 63 percent performing multiple procedures, signaling technology adoption. Most recently, Prof. MUDr. Petr Kolář, PhD, Head of the Eye Clinic at Slovak Medical University, and MUDr. Nora Majtánová, PhD, deputy head of the Eye Clinic at Slovak Medical University in Bratislava, Slovakiaperformed over the course of a few days the first six surgeries in that country, which made national headlines with Radio and Television of Slovakia (Rozhlas a televize Slovenska – RTV), the nationwide public broadcasting media organization and other media covering the procedures, and with JUDr. Zuzana Dolinková, Minister of Health of the Slovak Republic, in attendance.
“Low vision often leads to social isolation, which is why it’s so inspiring that hundreds of patients across Europe are seeing better and reengaging with their families after getting the SING IMT and participating in required low vision therapy,” said Jason Herod, Vice President Commercial, International Markets, Samsara Vision. “Our post-marketing studies show that these patients are meeting vision milestones that improve their ability to read, write, and discern what is in their straight-ahead central vision. Our patients are seeing the faces of loved ones for the first time in years.”
Physician confidence stems from gaining experience with the SING IMT and from post-marketing studies demonstrating that the majority of patients with late-stage AMD monocularly implanted with the SING IMT had improved functional vision after participating in a rehabilitation program focused on real-world tasks such as reading, writing, visual motor integration and mobility, according to a retrospective study published in Ophthalmology and Therapy. This is important because reading performance is one of the best predictors of patient-reported visual ability and vision-related quality of life.
