Science Corporation implants vision-restoring chip in first Stargardt disease patient

At TechCrunch Disrupt in October 2026, Science Corporation CEO Max Hodak announced that the company has implanted its PRIMA vision-restoring chip into the first patient with Stargardt disease, an inherited condition that progressively destroys central vision. The patient underwent the procedure in May at Sydney Eye Hospital in Australia as part of an ongoing trial.

Hodak, a former president and co-founder of Neuralink, described the retina as part of the central nervous system, arguing that cochlear implants, retinal prostheses and motor prostheses should all be considered types of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). He said the company sees BCIs expanding into a wide range of medical applications rather than simply enabling computer control.

PRIMA is already commercially available in Europe for patients with geographic atrophy, an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration. The company believes its approach could also apply to other conditions, including Stargardt disease, which is currently considered incurable. The disease affects the outer retina, gradually killing light-sensing cells while potentially sparing the inner retina, causing an enlarging central blind spot. Approximately 150,000 people worldwide have lost vision due to the disease.

The company said that during the first rehabilitation session, the patient saw a letter, and during the second, he was able to read a word. The PRIMA implant is a 2mm by 2mm chip placed in the back of the eye, paired with camera-equipped glasses that transmit images to the chip. Hodak said a next-generation version is being developed, with human trials planned within the next year and hopes of approaching native acuity within five years.