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26 - Photovoltaic retinal prosthesis for restoring sight to the blind

from Part V - Bionics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2015

By
Daniel Palanker ,
Yossi Mandel ,
Keith Mathieson ,
James Loudin ,
Georges Goetz ,
Philip Huie ,
Lele Wang ,
Theodore I. Kamins ,
Richard Smith  and
James S. Harris
...Show all authors
Edited by
Sandro Carrara  and
Krzysztof Iniewski
Daniel Palanker
Affiliation:
Stanford University
Yossi Mandel
Affiliation:
Bar Ilan University
Keith Mathieson
Affiliation:
University of Strathclyde
James Loudin
Affiliation:
Stanford University
Georges Goetz
Affiliation:
Stanford University
Philip Huie
Affiliation:
Stanford University
Lele Wang
Affiliation:
University of California, San Diego
Theodore I. Kamins
Affiliation:
Stanford University
Richard Smith
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Cruz
James S. Harris
Affiliation:
Stanford University
Alexander Sher
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Cruz
Sandro Carrara
Affiliation:
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Krzysztof Iniewski
Affiliation:
Redlen Technologies Inc., Canada
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Summary

Introduction

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes ofblindness in the developed world, with an incidence of 1:500 in patientsaged 55–64, and 1:8 in patients over 85 [1]. Retinitis pigmentosa(RP) is an inherited disease blinding about 1 in every 4000 individuals muchearlier in life [2]. In both of these conditions the photoreceptor layerdegenerates, while the inner retinal neurons survive to a large extent[3–5]. Electrically activating these neurons provides an alternativeroute for visual information and raises hope for the restoration of sight tothe blind.

In a normal retina, photoreceptors convert light into neural signals that areprocessed by inner retinal neurons, leading to generation of actionpotentials in the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). These signals travel to thebrain through the optic nerve and serve as the basis for visual perception.Electrical stimulation of the retina with microelectrodes can also produceaction potentials in RGCs, creating spatially patterned percepts of lightcalled phosphenes. Indeed, recent clinical trials with retinal prostheticelectrode arrays have restored visual acuity to subjects blinded by retinaldegeneration up to 20/1200 using epiretinal placement (facing theganglion cell side) [6], and up to 20/550 with subretinalimplantation [7]. While this serves as an important proof of concept withclinically useful implications, existing retinal prosthesis designs have anumber of shortcomings.

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Type
Chapter
Information
Handbook of Bioelectronics
Directly Interfacing Electronics and Biological Systems
 , pp. 325 - 338
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2015

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References

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