Ian's Noesis Wiki

Properties1
tagscompany, retinal-prosthesis, implant, vision-restoration, patent

2 min read

Nano Retina

Israeli retinal-implant developer (Herzliya; active 2009–2024) whose NR600 “bionic retina” reached first-in-human study before the company dissolved in spring 2024 for lack of investor support. Assignee of the foveated-prosthesis patent US9370417B2 catalogued in visual-prosthesis-patents.

Company

  • Founded 2009 by Rainbow Medical (Israeli medical-device incubator); ~11–50 employees; Herzliya offices with international research/manufacturing partners.
  • Management included Yael Hanein (VP Scientific Affairs, 2010–2023) and Dan Rappaport (CEO, 2022–2024).
  • Status: defunct/dissolved — closed spring 2024, ending the NR600 program. The clinical trial NCT04295304 (9 patients) had already been terminated at end-2023 (lack of funding) — see the NR600 row in retinal-prosthesis-companies.

Technology (NR600)

  • NR600 System: a miniature implant fixated on the retina plus powering/communication glasses; it processes visual images and stimulates retinal neurons described as mimicking inner-retinal cell function (implant-location classifications vary across sources — subretinal per bionic-vision.org; “penetrating epiretinal, not purely subretinal” per the wiki’s earlier correction).
  • The foveated design in US9370417B2 (visual-prosthesis-patents): a space-variant photosensor array densest centrally (fovea-like gradient), paired with a foveola-sparing electrode zone — no driven electrodes over the foveola; the penetrating electrodes target inner nuclear/ganglion cell layers that are largely absent from the foveola.

Caveats

  • Company history from bionic-vision.org (Beyeler-lab maintained profile, verified contributors) and press coverage; device-performance claims are company-reported and not independently audited here; confidence: medium.

References

Graph View

Backlinks