Microchips implanted into the back of the eyes of legally blind patients have helped some of them read again, according to a new study published Monday.

Out of the 32 patients with geographic atrophy — an advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration — who completed the clinical study, 26 of them showed "meaningful improvement in visual acuity from baseline" 12 months after receiving the implant, the research published in the New England Journal of Medicine said.

The treatment involves inserting a tiny implant thinner than human hair under the retina. Patients then have to wear specia glasses, which have a video camera and project what it sees via near-infrared light to the implant. The implant-glasses combination is called the photovoltaic retina implant microarray, or PR

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