title: Preoperative candidate evaluations for retinal  prosthesis trials.
abstract: With the development of retinal prostheses, the first clinical trials for these devices are being planned or are already underway. Yet the candidate selection criteria and the preparation of early recipients have received very little attention. As clinical trials grow in scope, the need for such issues will become increasingly important. Especially in preliminary stages of clinical trials, it is absolutely vital to develop the preoperative evaluations of candidates in identifying the suitable candidate for retinal prosthesis implants. This paper addresses the preoperative evaluations of candidates that may provide insight into selecting potential candidates for retinal prosthetic devices. Screening an ideal candidate is complex and, at the minimum, should include medical evaluations, visual function tests, assessments of psychological status, motivation, expectations, as well as rehabilitation capabilities. This will ensure that appropriate candidates are selected, candidate expectations are managed, and success with the retinal prosthetic devices is maximized.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Science and Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. irisxy@sjtu.edu.cn
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Qiushi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ren
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D018579:Patient Selection; D011300:Preoperative Care; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000601:surgery*; D014787:Vision Tests; D057488:Visual Prosthesis