The therapy delivered instructions for the light-sensitive protein ChrimsonR to retinal ganglion cells in participants’ worse-seeing eye. A camera in the goggles converted changes in brightness into amber-light pulses projected onto the retina.
Among eight participants who completed behavioral testing, four could find a doorway or follow a line while wearing the goggles. No participant gained the ability to read words or see faces. The approach depends on a functioning optic nerve to carry signals to the brain, so it cannot restore vision when that connection is damaged.