Samsara Vision's SING IMT

An Italian study of the smaller-incision new generation implantable miniature telescope (SING IMT) in patients with bilateral advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) showed initial significant visual acuity improvements were followed by complaints of hazy vision within three months.

SING IMT was implanted into 11 eyes of 11 patients, said researchers from the University of Ferrara, writing in Eye. Patients’ corrected distance visual acuity significantly improved from 17.00 ± 9.74 to 26.00 ± 8.53 letters (p=0.008), with significant improvement of corrected near visual acuity also observed (from 12.27 ± 4.36 to 8 ± 2.61 Jaeger levels; p=0.004). While no intraoperative complications were observed, postoperative complications included iris incarceration (9.1%), pigment deposition on the device (9.1%) and transient corneal oedema (27.3%), said researchers. Within three months of surgery, 10 of 11 patients (90.9%) began to complain of blurred or hazy vision, with the device ultimately explanted in three patients (27.3%) because of this symptom.

Auckland’s Dr Dean Corbett implanted two patients with the SING IMT at Southern Lakes Eye Care and Surgery in Queenstown in 2024. Although he said both patients reported improved near vision, “One has reported blurry vision, which is difficult to interpret in the presence of a better acuity.”

Although SING IMT implantation is associated with promising objective results, unexplained blurred or hazy vision represents common postoperative complaints that may lead to patient dissatisfaction, said researchers. “Further studies including patient-reported outcomes are warranted to evaluate the effect of the intervention on patients’ visual function and quality of life.”