New artificial retina promoting electronic Visual prosthesis technique of unprecedented progress

The Royal Society of the United Kingdom will commemorate • B bulletin a study report: Germany's a research team has developed a retinal prosthesis, three accept transplantation of blind man in a few days later, see shapes and objects.

One blind even to identify and find-and-drop in the preceding table objects, but also independently in room (free) walking, close to other people, see watches pointer (read specific time) and distinguish seven grey levels.

The device consists of Retinal Implant AG and Germany Tübingen ophthalmic research and development, represent the electronic Visual prosthesis (electronic visual prostheses) of unprecedented progress, and finally there is hope for the world to 20 million by Retinitis Pigmentosa (retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative diseases of the eye) and the blinding of the lives of the great changes occurred.

Suffering from the disease in patients whose eye photoreceptor ceased to function.

Eberhart Zrenner, Professor, (Ph.d., Retinal Implant AG company's founder and owner, Tübingen, President and CEO eye hospital) in the United Kingdom Royal Society journal • B series of papers pointed out: "the preliminary findings of the study provides strong evidence that the hereditary retinal dystrophy blinding of patients, their Visual function in principle can be restored to a sufficient level of support for daily life. ”

The device is the outer-retinal prosthesis (subretinal implant) devices, transplantation is placed under the retina can be directly substituted due to retinal degenerative loss of photoreceptor.

In this way, the device uses the eyes of the natural image processing capacity (without the need for optical testing phase) enables the patient to produce stable and feel and track eye movement.

Other types of retinal prosthesis (technology), surface-retinal prosthesis (epiretinal implant) is placed in the retina, and because they bypass the intraocular undamaged photosensitive structure, so I need patients wearing an external camera equipment and processing unit.

This paper describes outer-retinal prosthesis reached an unprecedented clarity, this is because the device than other similar device has a much higher number of photoreceptors.

As Professor (Dr.) Zrenner claimed: "the present this study ... Represents a proof of concept, that is, this device will be able to recover the blind experiment object meaningful vision, although large-scale clinical application of this final objective also need time to research and development. ”