Developed by researchers in biomedical engineering: 罢丑别听笔丑辞别苍颈虫99聽Bionic聽Eye
罢丑别听笔丑辞别苍颈虫99聽Bionic聽Eye聽is an implantable system, designed to restore a form of vision to patients living with severe vision impairment and blindness caused by degenerative diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa. The device has two main components which need to be implanted: a stimulator attached to the聽eye聽and a communication module positioned under the skin behind the ear.
Published in聽, the researchers used a sheep model to observe how the body responds and heals when implanted with the device, with the results allowing for further refinement of the surgical procedure. The biomedical research team is now confident the device could be trialled in human patients.听
The team will now apply for ethics approval to perform clinical trials in human patients, as they continue to develop and test advanced stimulation techniques.
罢丑别听笔丑辞别苍颈虫99聽Bionic聽Eye聽works by stimulating the retina 鈥撀燼 thin stack of neurones lining the back of the聽eye. In healthy聽eyes, the cells in one of the layers turn incoming light into electrical messages which are sent to the brain. In some retinal diseases, the cells responsible for this crucial conversion degenerate, causing vision impairment. The system bypasses these malfunctioning cells by stimulating the remaining cells directly, effectively tricking the brain into believing that light was sensed.
鈥淚mportantly, we found the device has a very low impact on the neurons required to聽鈥榯rick鈥櫬爐he brain. There were no unexpected reactions from the tissue around the device and we expect it could safely remain in place for many years,鈥 said Mr Samuel Eggenberger, a biomedical engineer who is completing his doctorate with Head of School of Biomedical Engineering Professor Gregg Suaning.听
鈥淥ur team is thrilled by this extraordinary result, which gives us confidence to push on towards human trials of the device. We hope that through this technology, people living with profound vision loss from degenerative retinal disorders may be able to regain a useful sense of vision,鈥 said Mr Eggenberger.
Mr Samuel聽 Eggenberger and Professor Gregg Suaning.
Professor Gregg Suaning said the positive results are a significant milestone for the聽Phoenix99 叠颈辞苍颈肠听贰测别.
鈥淭his breakthrough comes from combining decades of experience and technological breakthroughs in the field of implantable electronics,鈥 said Professor Suaning.听
顿别肠濒补谤补迟颈辞苍:听The procedures for this study were approved by the Animal Care and Ethics Committee of UNSW and were conducted in accordance with the Australian Code for the Care and Use of Animals for Experimental Purposes and the ARVO standards for use of animals in ophthalmic research. The research was supported by the Australian Research Council through its Special Research Initiative in聽Bionic聽Vision Science and Technology grant to聽Bionic聽Vision Australia and by the National Health and Medical Research Council, grant numbers APP1109056 and APP1087224.
The researchers are in the process of seeking ethical approval for a human clinical study, as such they are unable to recruit or accept expressions of interest at this time.