Blind patients have gained limited sight from a new treatment. Gene therapy plus special goggles helped them detect objects.

The study covered 10 people with retinitis pigmentosa. The disease kills light-sensing cells in the retina.

Results were published on October 7 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Seven of 10 patients became more sensitive to light.

Six reached the bar for a meaningful improvement. Four of eight who took behaviour tests did better at finding objects.

The treatment uses optogenetics. A virus delivers instructions that make surviving eye cells react to light.

Patients then wear goggles with a camera. The goggles turn scenes into pulses of amber light.

The approach won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine on October 5. Doctors say faces remain out of reach for now.

The treatment is still experimental. It is not available in hospitals. Larger trials will test it further.

Costs remain very high. Widespread use is years away, researchers say.