Category Archives: Retinitis Pigmentosa

Ophthalmic Acupuncture for Retinitis Pigmentosa Naomi Jansson explains how the Australian Centre for Natural Medicine on the Gold Coast uses ophthalmic acupuncture for treating retinitis pigmentosa. By: Alan Jansson … Continue reading →

Out of Sight, Out of Mind We follow the inspirational story of Leigh Davis, a partially sighted man who was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at the age of 17. By: Lauren Elliott … Continue reading →

Wolverhampton teenager Chelsey Cartwright suffers from a rare degenerative eye disease but has has vowed to see as much as the world as she can before she goes blind. Chelsey Cartwright, aged 17, centre, with 12-year-old sister Kaylie Cartwright and mother Vicqui Cartwright, 40 As a child Chelsey was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare degenerative eye disease which severely impairs sight and often leads to blindness. She has lived with the condition for as long as she can remember. Chelsey gets disorientated walking into a crowded room, her tunnel vision meaning she has to keep looking around to make sure she doesnt bump into anything. Reading books and doing school work poses its own set of problems. Everything has to be magnified or the words are just a scrambled blur. She also struggles to adjust to changes in light, and cant see at all in dusky conditions. One day in the future, she will lose her sight completely. When I was little I didnt realise how serious it was, said Chelsey, who lives in Parkfields with her parents and younger sister. It was only when I wasnt allowed to go on school trips because of my disease I started … Continue reading →

A degenerative eye disease slowly robbed Roger Pontz of his vision. Watch a full report Diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa as a teenager, Pontz has been almost completely blind for years. Now, thanks to a high-tech procedure that involved the surgical implantation of a "bionic eye," he has regained enough of his eyesight to catch small glimpses of his wife, grandson and cat. "It's awesome. It's exciting - seeing something new every day," Pontz said during a recent appointment at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center. The 55-year-old former competitive weightlifter and factory worker is one of four people in the U.S. to receive an artificial retina since the Food and Drug Administration signed off on its use last year. The facility in Ann Arbor has been the site of all four such surgeries since FDA approval. A fifth is scheduled for next month. Retinitis pigmentosa is an inherited disease that causes slow but progressive vision loss due to a gradual loss of the light-sensitive retinal cells called rods and cones. Patients experience loss of side vision and night vision, then central vision, which can result in near blindness. Not all of the 100,000 or so people in the U.S. … Continue reading →

........................................................................................................................................................................................ ANN ARBOR, Mich. A degenerative eye disease slowly robbed Roger Pontz of his vision. Diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa as a teenager, Pontz has been almost completely blind for years. Now, thanks to a high-tech procedure that involved the surgical implantation of a bionic eye, he has regained enough of his eyesight to catch small glimpses of his wife, grandson and cat. Its awesome. Its exciting seeing something new every day, Pontz said during a recent appointment at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center. The 55-year-old former competitive weightlifter and factory worker is one of four people in the U.S. to receive an artificial retina since the Food and Drug Administration signed off on its use last year. The facility in Ann Arbor has been the site of all four such surgeries since FDA approval. A fifth is scheduled for next month. Retinitis pigmentosa is an inherited disease that causes slow but progressive vision loss due to a gradual loss of the light-sensitive retinal cells called rods and cones. Patients experience loss of side vision and night vision, then central vision, which can result in near blindness. Not all of the 100,000 or so people in the U.S. with … Continue reading →

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A degenerative eye disease slowly robbed Roger Pontz of his vision. Diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa as a teenager, Pontz has been almost completely blind for years. Now, thanks to a high-tech procedure that involved the surgical implantation of a "bionic eye," he has regained enough of his eyesight to catch small glimpses of his wife, grandson and cat. "It's awesome. It's exciting -- seeing something new every day," Pontz said during a recent appointment at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center. The 55-year-old former competitive weightlifter and factory worker is one of four people in the U.S. to receive an artificial retina since the Food and Drug Administration signed off on its use last year. The facility in Ann Arbor has been the site of all four such surgeries since FDA approval. A fifth is scheduled for next month. Retinitis pigmentosa is an inherited disease that causes slow but progressive vision loss due to a gradual loss of the light-sensitive retinal cells called rods and cones. Patients experience loss of side vision and night vision, then central vision, which can result in near blindness. Not all of the 100,000 or so people in the U.S. … Continue reading →

Bionic eye helps blind man see again US patient Roger Pontz has been blind for years, but has now had some of his vision restored thanks to a bionic eye. Associated Press reports on his progress Diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa... By: The Telegraph … Continue reading →

ANN ARBOR, Mich. A degenerative eye disease slowly robbed Roger Pontz of his vision. Diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa as a teenager, Pontz has been almost completely blind for years. Now, thanks to a high-tech procedure that involved the surgical implantation of a "bionic eye," he's regained enough of his eyesight to catch small glimpses of his wife, grandson and cat. "It's awesome. It's exciting -- seeing something new every day," Pontz said during a recent appointment at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center. The 55-year-old former competitive weightlifter and factory worker is one of four people in the U.S. to receive an artificial retina since the Food and Drug Administration signed off on its use last year. The facility in Ann Arbor has been the site of all four such surgeries since FDA approval. A fifth is scheduled for next month. Retinitis pigmentosa is an inherited disease that causes slow but progressive vision loss due to a gradual loss of the light-sensitive retinal cells called rods and cones. Patients experience loss of side vision and night vision, then central vision, which can result in near blindness. Not all of the 100,000 or so people in the U.S. with retinitis … Continue reading →

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- A degenerative eye disease slowly robbed Roger Pontz of his vision. Diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa as a teenager, Pontz has been almost completely blind for years. Now, thanks to a high-tech procedure that involved the surgical implantation of a "bionic eye," he's regained enough of his eyesight to catch small glimpses of his wife, grandson and cat. "It's awesome. It's exciting - seeing something new every day," Pontz said during a recent appointment at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center. The 55-year-old former competitive weightlifter and factory worker is one of four people in the U.S. to receive an artificial retina since the Food and Drug Administration signed off on its use last year. The facility in Ann Arbor has been the site of all four such surgeries since FDA approval. A fifth is scheduled for next month. Retinitis pigmentosa is an inherited disease that causes slow but progressive vision loss due to a gradual loss of the light-sensitive retinal cells called rods and cones. Patients experience loss of side vision and night vision, then central vision, which can result in near blindness. Not all of the 100,000 or so people in the U.S. … Continue reading →

Mike Householder / AP Roger Pontz wears special glasses that house a small video camera and wirelessly transmit images, converted into a series of electrical pulses, to an array of electrodes on the surface of his retna. The pulses stimulate the retinas remaining healthy cells, causing them to relay the data to the optic nerve. A degenerative eye disease slowly robbed Roger Pontz of his vision. Diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa as a teenager, Pontz has been almost completely blind for years. Now, thanks to a high-tech procedure that involved the surgical implantation of a "bionic eye," he's regained enough of his eyesight to catch small glimpses of his wife, grandson and cat. "It's awesome. It's exciting seeing something new every day," Pontz said during a recent appointment at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center. The 55-year-old former competitive weightlifter and factory worker is one of four people in the U.S. to receive an artificial retina since the Food and Drug Administration signed off on its use last year. The facility in Ann Arbor has been the site of all four such surgeries since FDA approval. A fifth is scheduled for next month. Retinitis pigmentosa is an inherited disease that … Continue reading →