Retina Consultants New Five-Minute Treatment Offers Hope for Dry AMD Patients
Photographer / Chris Carroll
Muncie is one of two locations in Indiana to offer a new, state-of-the-art macular degeneration treatment — in five minutes, with no dilation, injections or driver needed.
Retina Consultants of Muncie offers photobiomodulation (PBM), a new, FDA-approved, noninvasive treatment for dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Dr. Jeffrey Rapkin is the vitreoretinal ophthalmologist at Retina Consultants of Muncie and has been serving the Muncie community since 1996.
According to Dr. Rapkin, AMD is the leading cause of vision loss for people over age 65 in the United States. Previously, cataracts were the leading cause of vision loss.
PBM is an innovative technology by Valeda® utilizing red-light therapy. After reading about the therapy in Retina, Dr. Rapkin could clearly see that PBM was the AMD treatment of the future.
Prior to the 1970s, there were no treatment options available for AMD, and patients progressively lost their vision. In the 1980s, laser treatments were developed.
In the 1990s, surgical excision treatment options were introduced. Late in the 1990s, photodynamic therapy (PDT) — a topically applied, injected or swallowed photosensitizer activated by lasers — was on the market. After PDT, patients had to dress like the Invisible Man, donning hats, gloves and sunglasses to protect their bodies from inadvertently activating the drug through exposure to sunlight.
In the early 2000s, eye injection treatments were introduced, which involved placing a needle directly into patients’ eyes.
Dr. Rapkin explained that 90% of patients diagnosed with AMD have the dry form. Lasers and drugs treat the wet form of AMD, yet patients still experienced a progressive decline in vision. Dry AMD treatment options have traditionally only slowed the progression of the disease and include smoking cessation, supplements and injections.
Dr. Rapkin described PBM as a sea change in treatment options for patients with dry AMD.
Out of all currently available therapies, Dr. Rapkin says only red-light therapy has the potential to make patients better. The treatment can improve vision without the risks of infection, bleeding, retinal detachment, cataracts or glaucoma. In clinical trials, there have been no treatment-related side effects.
In July 2025, Retina Consultants of Muncie purchased the Valeda® light delivery system, which uses PBM to treat dry AMD.
PBM can improve vision for patients with AMD. In studies, 96% of patients experienced improved vision or saw no decline in vision.
The treatment was FDA-approved in the United States in January 2025 and has been approved in Europe for the past six years.
Dr. Rapkin says the machine delivers a very specific dose of visible yellow, visible red and near-infrared light to the eye.
“There’s no dilation, no eye drops, no medicines and, most importantly, no injections, no needles,” he says. “Patients can drive themselves to the appointment and drive themselves home, and it only takes 10 minutes.”
The treatment takes four and a half minutes per eye.
“Red-light therapy, as opposed to injections, has the potential to reduce the cost and the burden to society by a factor of over 75% per year,” Dr. Rapkin says, in regard to PBM costs.
Retina Consultants of Muncie client Paul Biner has experienced both eye injections and PBM red-light therapy. In October 2025, Biner saw the light of utilizing PBM for AMD. He said PBM is inexpensive, quick and easy.
“It’s in-and-out,” Biner says. “This light therapy is infinitely better than the injections. The injections can be very painful, and there really is no pain involved with the light therapy.”
Biner adds that Dr. Rapkin is wonderful.
“[Dr. Rapkin] explains everything thoroughly, and I really don’t hesitate asking him questions at all,” he says.
Biner encourages people diagnosed with AMD to utilize the PBM treatment option.
“The data shows it can actually improve macular degeneration,” Biner says. “Go for it. There are no negatives here. You sit down, they just shine a light in your eye, you walk out and you feel great.”
During treatment days, patients can expect to drive themselves to the appointment, spend five minutes per eye receiving treatment and walk out the door without dilated pupils.
“We have many patients who’ve enjoyed some vision improvement early on,” Dr. Rapkin says.
Additional services provided by Retina Consultants of Muncie include treatments for floaters, diabetic eye care, retinal disease, injections, AMD and retinal vascular occlusions.
Retina Consultants of Muncie has many out-of-town patients and accepts most health insurance plans, including Veterans Administration insurance. Dr. Rapkin is a member and past president of Muncie Sunrise Rotary and has served on the boards of the Muncie Symphony Orchestra and the Muncie Civic Theatre.
Retina Consultants of Muncie is located at 2801 N. Oakwood Ave. For more information, visit retinamuncie.com or call 765-254-1944.
