The company Second Sight Medical Products, EYES in the stock market, has created technology that they call Argus II that helps blind people see. Argus II works with those who suffer from retinitis pigmentosa also known as RP or advanced macular degeneration, by surgically attaching an electrode array to the eye which receives signals from a pair of glasses equipped with a video camera that the patient wears. The video footage is then transmitted to the eye using a series of electrical pulses that the brain processes as visual images. This allows patients to detect shapes and pick up contrast between light and dark, which while does not correct damage to the retina, allows people who had previously been able to see nothing see windows, doorways, and has even allowed a patient to see 3 or 4 letters in a row. It was approved by the FDA in 2013, and more than 170 patients have been equipped with Argus II. The company is also working on another project called Orion I, which would help those who have gone blind from other conditions such as glaucoma, diabetes, or trauma that led to a detached retina, however it is still in animal testing.
The Company was recently featured on the latest episode or "Vice" from HBO. After this, their stock surged, reaching nearly 60% at one point and finishing with a 22% gain. However, Second Sight has a relatively small commercial footprint, and in its first nine months they had total sales of $6.6 million and a loss of $14.5 million. They recently announced that they will be giving existing shareholders the ability to buy more stock at a discount, which they hope could raise as much as $20 million that should help them get through the end of 1017 before they would need more money.
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