Professor Eberhart Zrenner Delivers Keynote Lecture at the RP Fighting Blindness Annual Conference

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LONDON, June 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Retina Implant AG, the leading developer of subretinal implants for patients blinded by retinitis pigmentosa (RP), today announced that Professor Eberhart Zrenner, Retina Implant's co-founder and lead clinical trial investigator and founding director of the Institute of Ophthalmic Research, University of Tuebingen, Germany, presented a keynote lecture at RP Fighting Blindness' annual conference. The conference took place on Saturday, 21 June, 2014 at the Pullman Hotel in London. 

Zrenner's presentation, "The application of technology to the restoration and preservation of sight," featured discussion surrounding the success of Retina Implant's Alpha IMS subretinal implant in restoring useful vision to those blinded by RP. The CE marked Alpha IMS device is implanted beneath the retina, specifically in the macular region and simulates the functioning nerve cells of the eye. The desired outcome is restored functional vision to people with RP, enabling patients to recognize facial expressions, distinguish objects such as telephones, cups, plates and decipher signs on doors, as has been achieved in many of the 42 patients operated so far across seven centers worldwide. The successful results of Retina Implant's clinical trials of the Alpha IMS device have been published twice in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

Of the keynote lecture, David Head, chief executive at RP Fighting Blindness said; "We are delighted to welcome Professor Zrenner as one of our keynote speakers for our 2014 national conference. As a highly-respected authority in the world of the application of technology to the restoration and preservation of sight, we feel he is ideally placed to answer the essential questions on this subject raised by our members and supporters."

"It is an honour to present this keynote lecture at this important conference where roughly 200 leaders within the ophthalmology community, patients and caregivers alike converge to learn about the latest in treatment and therapies for RP," said Professor Eberhart Zrenner, founding director of the Institute of Ophthalmic Research, University of Tuebingen, Germany. "The Alpha IMS implant represents the tremendous progress being made to bring potentially life-changing therapy to people living with RP and I am happy that it is the type of development the RP Fighting Blindness community wants to discuss."

RP Fighting Blindness is a UK-based charity that was founded to offer support, raise awareness and contribute to medical research for the degenerative eye condition, retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The RP annual conference is an important part of the charity's calendar. This one day event brings together more than 200 members, patients, family and friends, supporters, clinicians and researchers from all over the UK to hear from medical experts and inspirational speakers.

Retina Implant is honoured to be sponsoring the 2014 RP Fighting Blindness conference, with both organisations sharing a vision to restore sight to patients with RP through advanced medical research. Retina Implant will be exhibiting at the event and will provide in-depth information about the company and the Alpha IMS device.

For more updates from the congress, please follow us on Twitter @RetinaImplant: https://twitter.com/RetinaImplant.

About RP Fighting Blindness

RP Fighting Blindness was founded in 1975 by a number of people with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The group was concerned at the lack of knowledge about RP in the medical profession, the lack of a treatment or cure, and the lack of support for people with RP, and so decided to do something about it.

RP Fighting Blindness has since evolved into a respected medical research charity and a nationwide organisation providing support and information, remaining grounded in their volunteer roots, seeking to help patients live with RP and funding cutting edge research into the causes of and potential treatments for the disease. To learn more visit http://www.rpfightingblindness.org.uk/.

About Retina Implant AG

Retina Implant AG is the leading developer of subretinal implants for partially sighted and blind patients. After extensive research with German university hospitals and institutes which began with a large grant from the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education in 1996, Retina Implant AG was founded by Dr. Eberhart Zrenner, professor of Ophthalmology, University of Tuebingen, Germany and his colleagues in 2003 with private investors with the goal of developing the first fully-functioning electronic retinal implant to restore useful vision to the blind. Retina Implant began implanting in human patients in 2005, and started a second multi-center clinical trial in 2010. In July 2013, Retina Implant's wireless subretinal implant technology, Alpha IMS, received CE mark for commercial distribution in the European Union. To learn more, visit http://www.retina-implant.de/. 

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SOURCE Retina Implant AG