PURPOSE To assess visual task performance in three blind subjects implanted with epiretinal prostheses. DESIGN Prospective, investigational device exemption trial. METHODS Three subjects with light perception or no light perception vision were enrolled at a single center. All subjects had retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Main inclusion criteria: light perception or worse vision in one eye and som...

Several signaling pathways and transcription factors control the cell fate in its in vitro development and differentiation. The orchestrated use of these factors results in cell specification. In coculture methods, many of these factors secrete from host cells but control the process. Today, transcription factors required for retinal progenitor cells are well known, but the generation of these ...

A retinal prosthesis was permanently implanted in the eye of a completely blind test subject. This report details the results from the first 10 weeks of testing with the implant subject. The implanted device included an extraocular case to hold electronics, an intraocular electrode array (platinum disks, 4 x 4 arrangement) designed to interface with the retina, and a cable to connect the electr...

BACKGROUND Retinal prosthesis systems (RPS) are a novel treatment for profound vision loss in outer retinal dystrophies. Ideal prostheses would offer stable, long-term retinal stimulation and reproducible spatial resolution in a portable form appropriate for daily life. METHODS We report a prospective, internally controlled, multicentre trial of the Argus II system. Twenty-eight subjects with...

Focused ultrasound is a promising noninvasive technology for neural stimulation. Here we use the isolated salamander retina to characterize the effect of ultrasound on an intact neural circuit and compared these effects with those of visual stimulation of the same retinal ganglion cells. Ultrasound stimuli at an acoustic frequency of 43 MHz and a focal spot diameter of 90 μm delivered from a pi...

Retinal prosthesis offers a potential treatment for individuals suffering from photoreceptor degeneration diseases. Establishing biological retinal models and simulating how the biological retina convert incoming light signal into spike trains that can be properly decoded by the brain is a key issue. Some retinal models have been presented, ranking from structural models inspired by the layered...

This review article highlights 4 case reports published in 2015 that provided substantive contributions to the field of retina. The first describes postoperative hemorrhagic occlusive retinal vasculitis, a newly described and visually devastating complication of cataract surgery. The second discusses ocriplasmin as a novel treatment for foveal schisis in patients with X-linked retinoschisis. Th...

Purpose: To make sure the biocompatibility and to get the permission to use the EPIRET3-device in a clinical trial according to German laws and to European ISO standards. To characterize the systems and the interaction with the retinal cells of RP-subjects after explantation. Methods: We tested the finally designed wireless epiretinal implants preclinically in vitro. The systems were directly s...

This paper concentrates on recent developments in microsensors and microbiosensors for the possible applications in visual prostheses, especially retinal prosthetic devices. A brief introduction on the developments of visual prosthesis will be presented. The importance for in-vivo pH measurements as well as the need for an implantable pH sensor will be demonstrated. Electrochemical biosensors d...

Clinical laboratories are strong, integral partners in personalized health care. Laboratory databases hold a vast amount of data on human phenotypes, genotypes, biomarkers, progression of disease, and response to therapy. These structured and unstructured free text data are critical for patient care and a resource for personalized medicine and translational research. Laboratory data are integra...