New Device may Help with Retinitis Pigmentosa

First Posted: Nov 16, 2013 11:00 PM EST
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The 117th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology recently presented information regarding a device that could potentially help people who have lost their vision due to a blinding genetic disease. The device, known as Argus II, is the first-FDA approved retinal implant that would help adults with retinitis pigmentosa--a group of genetic disorder that affect the retina's ability to see light.

It's estimated that this problem affects about 1 in 4,000 Americans, causing a slow loss of vision that begins with decreased night vision and extends to the loss of peripheral vision and eventually blindness. For nearly one-quarter of patients suffering from this eye disorder, they will be legally blind in both eyes. And unfortunately, at this time, there is no current cure for retinitis pigmentosa.

The Argus II works as a miniature video camera that's found inside the subject's glasses and sends information to a patient-worn video that processes unit information via a picture that's captured by the camera and transmitted wirelessly to a retinal implant fitted with 60 electrodes.

The electrodes work by stimulating cells located in the retina through a pulse. They then transmit visual information along the optic nerve to the brain, creating the perception of patterns of light.

Study authors examined the device on eight patients who wore the retinal prosthesis and were asked to identify white or metallic objects against a dark background. They were then asked to identify the same objects with enhanced outlines. These tests were performed in three separate ways-with the retinal prosthesis turned on in a standard mode, scrambled mode as a positive control and turned off as a negative control.

Findings showed that solid objectification rose from 12.5 percent correct with the device switched off to 32.8 percent with the device on with 26.2 percent correct identification when the device was scrambled. Results outlined object identification that showed 9.4 percent with the device turned off and 41.4 percent with the device on. It also showed 20.7 percent showed correct identification when in scrambled mode.

"Despite the small sample size, statistically the results have achieved significance due to the magnitude of change in the performance of the use of the device within each subject." said Yvonne Luo, MA, FRCOphth, of London's Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and lead researcher on the study, via a press release. "Moreover, these subjects represent people with the most severe form of the disease."

More information regarding the  study can be found here

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