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Direct Answer
Yes, in eligible patients. Improving visual function in dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is now possible with authorized device-based therapy. This is a meaningful development for patients who have long been told that nothing could be done to improve the vision they have already lost. It is not the same as curing dry AMD or reversing the underlying disease. It means that measurable gains in visual acuity and contrast sensitivity are achievable in appropriate patients and that those gains can translate into real-world differences in daily function.1
The key qualifier is eligibility. Not all dry AMD patients are candidates for device-based therapy, and not all patients who receive it respond equally. A clinical assessment is required to determine whether a patient’s disease stage and baseline visual acuity place them within the range for which the evidence applies.2
Why Improving Vision in Dry AMD Was Previously Considered Impossible
For most of the history of AMD management, the clinical understanding was that vision lost to dry AMD could not be recovered. The degeneration of retinal pigment epithelium cells and the photoreceptors they support was treated as irreversible. The clinical goal, accordingly, was to slow further loss rather than to recover what had already been affected.3
That understanding shaped the treatment landscape for decades. AREDS2 supplementation, the most robustly evidenced dry AMD intervention, reduces the risk of progression to advanced AMD in eligible patients. It does not improve visual acuity or contrast sensitivity. Monitoring protocols track structural changes to detect deterioration early. Lifestyle modifications reduce risk factors. None of these address the functional question of whether a patient with existing visual loss can see better.4
The development and authorization of device-based therapy to improve visual function represent a shift in what is clinically achievable. It does not change what AMD is or what causes it. But it opens a practical avenue for patients who want to know whether anything can be done about their current vision, rather than only about preventing further loss.2
What Visual Function Improvement Means in Dry AMD
Visual Acuity and Contrast Sensitivity
Visual function in AMD clinical trials is measured primarily through two validated tools. The first is ETDRS visual acuity, which measures the ability to read letters on a standardized chart under high-contrast conditions. It is scored letter by letter, making it sensitive to small changes over time. The second is contrast sensitivity, which measures the ability to distinguish objects from backgrounds at varying levels of contrast. Both are relevant to how AMD affects daily life.1
High-contrast visual acuity is required for tasks like reading a printed page under good lighting. Contrast sensitivity captures tasks like reading a menu in a dimly lit restaurant, recognizing faces in variable lighting, or navigating an unfamiliar indoor environment where surfaces blend together at lower contrast. In dry AMD, both are often affected, and contrast sensitivity in particular can decline significantly even when ETDRS acuity appears relatively preserved.3
Improvement in both measures, as demonstrated in clinical trials, reflects a functional benefit that extends across a range of everyday visual tasks rather than a narrowly defined laboratory result.
What the Published Evidence Shows
MacuMira is a Health Canada–authorized treatment device indicated to improve visual function in patients with dry AMD. In its published randomized sham-controlled clinical trial, the treatment group showed statistically significant improvement in both visual acuity and contrast sensitivity over the treatment period. The average gain was 8.2 letters on the ETDRS scale. For context, a gain of 5 letters is considered a meaningful clinical improvement and 10 or more letters represents a large and functionally significant change. In this trial, 48% of treated patients gained 10 or more letters.2
Contrast sensitivity improved by an average of 0.24 log units in the treatment group. Zero device-related serious adverse events were recorded in the trial or in more than 21,000 real-world treatments across three countries since the device’s launch. The sham control group, which received a procedure identical in all observable respects except the active stimulation, did not show the same pattern of improvement. This comparison is what allows the gains to be attributed to the active treatment rather than to expectation of benefit.2
How Quickly Improvement Occurs
In patients who respond to treatment, improvement in visual function typically becomes apparent within the first 4 to 10 days of beginning therapy. In practical terms, this is often within the first 4 sessions. This relatively rapid response window is useful clinically: it allows the treating clinician and patient to assess early on whether a response is occurring, rather than committing to a full treatment course before any signal of benefit is detectable.2
Not all patients respond, and the degree of improvement varies between individuals. Early response does not predict the magnitude of the final benefit and absence of early response is not always definitive. Decisions about continuing therapy after an initial course should be made in discussion with the treating clinician based on the individual’s clinical picture.
Who Is Most Likely to Benefit?
The published trial enrolled patients with dry AMD and best-corrected visual acuity between 20/50 and 20/200. This range corresponds to mild to moderate visual impairment. The trial evidence most directly supports patients within this range. Patients with visual acuity better than 20/50, while not excluded from the authorized indication, may experience a ceiling effect: the scope for measurable improvement is smaller when the starting point is already close to normal, even if the device is having a biological effect.2
Patients with wet AMD are excluded from the authorized indication. MacuMira is not indicated for wet AMD, and the clinical trial did not enrol wet AMD patients. Patients with coexisting dry and wet AMD in different eyes should discuss eligibility carefully with their eye care provider.
AMD stage also matters. Patients with very advanced geographic atrophy affecting large areas of the central macula have fewer viable photoreceptors available to benefit from functional improvement. The treating clinician should assess whether the extent of structural damage in a given patient is likely to limit the scope for meaningful functional gain.
The Distinction Between Improving Vision and Other AMD Management Goals
It is important to be precise about what device-based therapy for dry AMD does and does not do. The authorized indication is to improve visual function. This is distinct from 3 other claims that are sometimes conflated with it.2
The first is to slow or stop AMD progression. Progression refers to changes in the underlying disease course, such as the growth of geographic atrophy or the accumulation of drusen. Authorized device-based therapy is not indicated for this purpose, and the clinical trial did not measure progression as a primary or secondary endpoint. AREDS2 supplementation, which does address progression risk, remains the appropriate intervention for that goal.4
The second is reversing AMD. Dry AMD cannot currently be reversed. Structural changes that have already occurred in the macula, including photoreceptor loss in areas of geographic atrophy, are not restored by device-based therapy. The improvement in visual function that is observed reflects changes in how existing retinal cells are functioning rather than restoration of cells that have been lost.3
The third is a guarantee of improvement. Not all patients respond to treatment and individual outcomes vary. Clinicians should communicate expected outcomes based on the trial population and the individual patient’s eligibility profile rather than implying that improvement is certain.
How Visual Function Improvement Fits Into a Comprehensive AMD Management Plan
Device-based therapy for improving visual function is one component of dry AMD management, not a replacement for other elements. Patients who begin therapy should continue their regular monitoring schedule with OCT imaging, as structural changes in the macula can occur independently of functional status. AREDS2 supplementation should continue where it is already indicated. Lifestyle modifications relevant to AMD risk and progression remain relevant.1
The maintenance schedule for authorized therapy is also an ongoing commitment. MacuMira’s treatment protocol involves single treatment sessions typically every 10–12 weeks to sustain the functional visual gains achieved during the initial 10-day loading phase. This ongoing schedule is designed to sustain the functional improvement achieved in the initial treatment period. Patients who complete an initial course but do not continue maintenance visits may not retain the improvement they initially achieved.2
For patients with significant existing vision loss, low vision rehabilitation can complement device-based therapy by addressing the practical impact on daily living of what has already been lost. The two approaches serve different purposes and are not mutually exclusive.
What to Ask Your Eye Care Provider
- Based on my current visual acuity and AMD stage, am I within the range likely to benefit from device-based therapy?2
- What outcomes would I realistically expect given my baseline, including whether a ceiling effect is likely to apply?2
- How soon would I know if the treatment is working for me?
- What does the treatment schedule look like, including the initial course and ongoing maintenance?
- How will we measure and track any change in my visual function over time?1
- Should I continue my AREDS2 supplements and monitoring schedule while receiving device-based therapy?4
- If I have significant vision loss already, should I also be referred to a low-vision specialist?
Key Takeaway
Visual function can be improved in eligible dry AMD patients with authorized device-based therapy. MacuMira is Health Canada–authorized to improve visual function in dry AMD patients, and its published randomized sham-controlled trial demonstrated statistically significant improvement in both visual acuity and contrast sensitivity in the treatment group, with an average gain of 8.2 ETDRS letters and zero device-related serious adverse events across the trial and more than 21,000 real-world treatments. Improvement in visual function is distinct from slowing progression, reversing AMD, or guaranteeing outcomes for all patients. Eligibility depends on AMD stage and baseline acuity, with patients whose acuity is better than 20/50 subject to a ceiling effect. MacuMira is for use under the supervision of an eye care professional and is not indicated for wet AMD.
Disclaimer
This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Patients should consult a qualified eye care professional to determine whether device-based therapy is appropriate for their specific condition and stage of disease.
Glossary
ETDRS scale: The Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study visual acuity scale, scored letter by letter at a standardized test distance. The standard outcome measure in AMD clinical trials.
Contrast sensitivity: The ability to distinguish objects from their background at varying contrast levels. Frequently reduced in dry AMD independently of high-contrast visual acuity.
MacuMira: A Health Canada–authorized treatment device indicated to improve visual function in patients with dry AMD, delivered via low-level electrical stimulation in a clinical setting under the supervision of a licensed eye care professional. Not indicated for wet AMD.
Dry AMD: A progressive retinal condition affecting the macula. The most common form of AMD. Distinct from wet AMD in pathophysiology and clinical management.
Wet AMD: A form of AMD involving abnormal blood vessel growth beneath the retina. Treated with anti-VEGF injections. MacuMira is not indicated for wet AMD.
Geographic atrophy: An advanced stage of dry AMD in which large areas of retinal pigment epithelium and photoreceptors have degenerated, causing irreversible central vision loss.
AREDS2 formula: A nutritional supplement combination shown to reduce progression risk to advanced AMD in eligible patients. Addresses structural progression, not visual function improvement.
Ceiling effect: In clinical measurement, the limited scope for measurable improvement when a patient’s baseline function is near the upper end of the measurement scale.
Sham-controlled trial: A clinical trial in which the control group receives a procedure mimicking the active intervention in all observable ways except the active component.
Visual function: The ability to perform visually demanding tasks, encompassing visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and other dimensions of how vision supports daily activities.
References
1. Age-Related Macular Degeneration. National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health. Last reviewed November 2023. Accessed June 2026. https://www.nei.nih.gov/eye-health-information/eye-conditions-and-diseases/age-related-macular-degeneration.
2. Evaluation of visual acuity in dry AMD patients after microcurrent electrical stimulation. Parkinson KM, Sayre EC, Tobe SW. International Journal of Retina and Vitreous. Published May 2023. Accessed June 2026. https://macumira.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MacuMira-Clinical-Trial.pdf.
3. Understanding Macular Degeneration. American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published November 2025. Accessed June 2026. https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/amd-macular-degeneration.
4. Lutein + Zeaxanthin and Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Age-Related Macular Degeneration: The Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2) Randomized Clinical Trial. AREDS2 Research Group. JAMA. Published May 15, 2013. Accessed June 2026. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/1684847.
5. Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). Canadian Ophthalmological Society. Date not listed. Accessed June 2026. https://www.seethepossibilities.ca/eye-health/age-related-macular-degeneration/.
