Intraocular vision-improving devices in age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of blindness, especially in western countries, and will substantially burden society and the world’s health care system. Patients with late AMD often accompany a progressive loss of central vision, which will heavily influence the quality of life and associated with increased risk of functional disability. The principal visual rehabilitation methods with low-vision magnifiers, such as hand or stand magnifiers, spectacles, and closed-circuit television, were cumbersome to use and cosmetically burdensome. Therefore, the development of intraocular vision-improving devices has become an attractive alternative to extraocular visual aids, and better life quality improvement has been reached among AMD patients. To evaluate each device’s safety and efficacy based on current research, we searched the Cochrane Library, PubMed using pre-reported search terms and keywords combined with both Mesh term and text words. We explored randomized clinical controlled trials, cohort studies, and case serial reports and summarizes three aspects: visual outcomes, safety outcome, and quality of life outcomes. There are four types of devices recommended for AMD patients illustrating in this article: an implantable miniature telescope (IMT), IOL-VIP System, EyeMax Mono, and Scharioth macula lens (SML). There is no doubt that these technological advancements would bring new hope for AMD patients. However, the lack of randomized controls, limited follow-up duration, and various visual acuity (VA) measurements in different studies would be difficult than IOL devices.