Fran Fulton

Patient with Retinitis Pigmentosa "Sees"

Fran Fulton was born with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a degenerative eye disease affecting about 100,000 Americans. Initially diagnosed at 24 years old, Fulton lost all functional vision by the time she was in her late 30’s. In the breakthrough surgery on July 28th 2014, Dr. Allen Ho,  Retina Research Director at Wills Eye Hospital and Fulton’s surgeon, led a team of surgeons and technicians to implant the microelectrode device on her macula in the back of her eye. The surgery enables her to use wireless technology activated when wearing a pair of specialty glasses with an attached camera and a video processing unit where the images can be transmitted to the brain.