Science Corp.’s PRIMA Prosthesis Restores Sight, Offering Hope for Millions
A California-based startup, Science Corp., has achieved a significant breakthrough in vision restoration with its PRIMA ocular prosthesis. Several patients with severe eyesight problems have regained the ability to read letters and numbers, with some even reading entire pages of a book, a development recently reported in The New England Journal of Medicine. The company anticipates launching the device in Europe as early as next year.
The milestone, announced at the end of October, is viewed by Science Corp.’s CEO, 36-year-old Max Hodak, with a sense of inevitability, despite its revolutionary implications. Hodak, a biomedical engineer and co-founder of Neuralink – where he previously served as president – founded Science Corp. in 2021 to focus on restoring vision through brain-computer interfaces. He shared his insights during an interview with El PAÍS at the Web Summit in Lisbon on November 11, 2025.
A Lifelong Pursuit of Brain-Computer Interfaces
Hodak’s fascination with the brain began at a young age. “The brain is the seat of your entire experience,” he explained. “It’s the only organ that I really care about. The rest of the body exists to support the brain, move it around and facilitate its functions.” He believes brain-computer interfaces offer possibilities beyond traditional medicine.
“With brain-computer interfaces, you place an implant in the motor cortex and, 30 minutes later, you have a patient playing video games with the PRIMA retinal prosthesis,” Hodak stated. “Patients go from being almost blind – so much so that they can’t recognize faces – to being able to read every letter on an eye chart and do crossword puzzles.”
How PRIMA Works: An Electronic Bypass for Lost Vision
The PRIMA prosthesis is a small chip comprised of tiny hexagonal cells that function as solar panels. This chip is surgically placed under the retina, behind the eye, and works in conjunction with specially designed glasses. The lenses feature a camera that captures the surrounding environment and a laser projector that shines light into the eye.
The camera records video, which is then processed and projected onto the implant as infrared light. This light stimulates the retina, effectively acting as an “electronic photoreceptor.” According to Hodak, this approach is most effective for patients who have previously experienced sight. “Their brain knows what it’s like to see and the optic nerve is intact, but the light-sensitive cells in the retina – the cones and rods – have died for some reason or another.”
Targeting a Range of Eye Diseases
The PRIMA prosthesis has the potential to treat a variety of conditions that cause the degeneration of cones and rods, including age-related macular degeneration – the focus of the published research in The New England Journal of Medicine – retinitis pigmentosa, Stargardt disease, and certain cases of diabetic retinopathy. “If the brain can see and the retina is still connected to the brain – even if it’s no longer sensitive to light – our chip allows us to stimulate the retina directly, bypassing the dead cones and rods,” Hodak explained.
He characterized the approach as “electronic,” emphasizing that the brain is an information-processing organ and can be interacted with on that level.
A Personal Connection to the Breakthrough
The development of PRIMA is deeply personal for Hodak, whose maternal grandfather suffered from retinitis pigmentosa. “I grew up around blindness,” he shared. “And seeing this solution reach patients is very exciting.” He recalled his grandfather’s reliance on a magnifying glass, a far less effective solution. Hodak expressed excitement seeing PRIMA featured on the cover of Time magazine, a milestone he once only witnessed on the cover of Wired for unproven technologies.
The Future of Vision Restoration: Beyond PRIMA
While Hodak is cautious about using the term “cure,” he believes significant advancements are within reach. He anticipates achieving normal visual acuity within the next five to seven years, and ultimately, 20/20 vision within one or two generations of devices. A key challenge remains: restoring color vision. Currently, PRIMA provides only black-and-white results, but Hodak believes color detection – starting with red and green – is achievable in the coming years.
However, Hodak clarified that the current approach is not a universal solution for all forms of blindness. “Our approach doesn’t work with glaucoma,” he noted, explaining that regenerating the connection between the retina and the brain would be necessary for such cases.
Hodak envisions a broader future for brain-computer interfaces, extending beyond ocular prostheses to include cochlear implants, closed-loop neuromodulation for conditions like Parkinson’s disease, and even potential restoration of brain function after a stroke. He anticipates that many of these advances will eventually be possible non-invasively, through the use of wearables.
Regarding regulatory approval, Science Corp. is currently undergoing review in Europe, with a US FDA approval process expected to take longer. The company anticipates a European market launch sometime next year. .
