[Status of the subretinal implant project. An overview].
The development of a subretinal prosthesis has come to a stage where human trials are forthcoming. Subretinal prostheses are designed to replace degenerated photoreceptors in diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa or age-related macular degeneration. Microphotodiode arrays are implanted between retinal pigment epithelium and retina. Our group has collected convincing evidence for the principle feasibility of a subretinal prosthesis. Animal experiments have shown that subretinal electrical stimulation can successfully elicit spatially ordered responses in the visual cortex; visual acuity is estimated to reach 0.25 degrees of visual angle. Histological long-term examinations have demonstrated that the retina tolerates a subretinal implant well and also that the implant itself sustains the ocular environments. Surgical procedures have been successfully developed to implant complex subretinal devices.
Gekeler
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Augenklinik der Universität, Tübingen. gekeler@uni-tuebingen.de
Zrenner
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D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000534:rehabilitation; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation / Q000379:methods; D011817:Rabbits; D051381:Rats; D012106:Research; D012160:Retina / Q000601:surgery; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D012174:Retinitis Pigmentosa / Q000534:rehabilitation