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

Science Corporation announced it implanted its PRIMA vision-restoring chip in the first patient with Stargardt disease, an inherited eye disease that progressively destroys central vision. The company’s CEO, Max Hodak, outlined the milestone during a presentation at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Hodak emphasized that retinal prostheses like PRIMA are a form of brain-computer interface (BCI), situating the work within a broader medical technology vision rather than consumer control applications.

The PRIMA implant is a two-millimeter-by-two-millimeter device placed at the back of the eye where photoreceptors have degenerated. Patients use camera-equipped glasses that transmit visual data to the chip, which functions as artificial photoreceptors. Hodak described the current field of view as narrow—comparable to "looking through a straw"—and limited to high-contrast, black-and-white central vision capable of resolving a few letters at a time.

According to Hodak, the first patient with Stargardt disease received the implant in May as part of an ongoing trial at Sydney Eye Hospital in Australia. During the patient’s first rehabilitation session, he saw a letter, and during the second, he was able to read a word. These outcomes indicate early functional vision restoration, though the device’s capabilities remain constrained by its small size and electrode density.

Hodak stated that a next-generation PRIMA implant is in development and expected to enter human testing within a year. Over the next five years, the company aims to approach native visual acuity by increasing the implant’s field of view and reducing electrode size to match natural levels of detail. The technical challenge includes addressing the eye’s curvature and scaling up the implant without compromising performance.

PRIMA is already commercially available in Europe for patients who have lost vision to geographic atrophy, an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration. Science Corporation’s broader mission includes applying BCI technology to neurodegenerative diseases and stroke, with plans to monitor neurological activity in patients with brain tumors and potentially restore function by adding new cortical areas.

Founded in 2021 by Hodak after his tenure at Neuralink, Science Corporation initially prioritized restoring vision to build a sustainable business and validate its neural engineering methods. The company’s BCI sensor is designed to sit on top of the brain under the skull, distinguishing it from Neuralink’s approach of direct brain tissue insertion.

Hodak suggested that while the company is not targeting "healthy 40-year-olds," it anticipates BCIs becoming necessary for many people by ages 60 or 70 as part of extending health span. The long-term goal includes understanding how the brain creates the mind and engineering artificial brains.