Second Sight Medical Products Inc. said U.K.'s National Health Service would fund blind patients suffering from retinitis pigmentosa to receive treatment with the company's Argus II retinal prosthesis system, or "bionic eye."

The product would be funded via the commissioning through an evaluation program, which is designed for treatments showing promise while new clinical and patient experience data are collected within a formal evaluation program.

Argus II is reimbursed under a similar program called Forfait Innovation in France.