An Implantable Epiretinal Vision Prosthesis for Retinitis Pigmentosa Patients

摘要

Retinal implants are an important neuro-prosthetical approach to restore vision in patients that are blind due to photoreceptor loss from retinitis pigmentosa. There are two main approaches. One is the subretinal implant, which is intented to be implanted at the level of the degenerated photoreceptors. The second approach is the epiretinal implant, whose stimulation electrodes are favourably placed from the vitreous side onto the retina of an eye. In this, visual information is captured with an external camera, processed and transmitted to a retinal stimulator that is secured intraocularly and whose electrodes stimulate retinal ganglion cells. As with most electrical prostheses advances are often related to advances in science and technology. Of equal importance are pre-clinical studies and surgical aspects of being able to implant such devices. Recently, the German EpiRet group implanted and tested their epiretinal vision prosthesis in blind human volunteers suffering from retinitis pigmentosa. We present implant's design and results of a clinical study to demonstrate the function and the applicability of the EpiRet vision prosthesis.