The Future of Sight
[ Research Review 0809 : Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences ]
By Emma O’Neill
Imagine being able to cross a road by yourself, read a book and know what shirt you’re wearing. These were the humble dreams recently listed by a group of vision-impaired people during a focus group outlining the impact restored vision would have on their lives.
The focus group was organised by Professor Jill Keeffe and her team at the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA), University of Melbourne. The session was not designed to identify challenges of being vision-impaired, but to refine functionality requirements for a new, advanced bionic eye being developed by the Bionic Vision Australia partnership of which the University of Melbourne is a key member.
The new device will enable unprecedented high resolution images to be seen by thousands of people with severely diminished sight, and could eventually allow people with severe vision loss to read large print and recognise faces.
Research Director of Bionic Vision Australia and Professor of Engineering at the University, Professor Anthony Burkitt, says the new device will ultimately be far superior to other retinal implants being investigated by groups throughout the world.
The new device will use a video camera – fixed to a person’s glasses – to capture images which are then translated into electrical impulses which stimulate electrodes inserted into the retina. These images are then sent to the visual cortex of the brain to stimulate the same area usually stimulated by visual cues. Over time the patient then learns to interpret these electronic impulses as parcels of light, and use these as useful vision.
Head of the Macular Research Unit at the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA), and Professor of Ophthalmology at the University, Dr Robyn Guymer, says the new device will do a lot more for patients than existing bionic eyes that simply enable people to differentiate between large and small objects and detect shadows.
According to Professor Burkitt, if Federal Government funding is received, the first retinal implant should take place at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital within two years and commercialisation of the device should take place within five years. Researchers at Bionic Vision Australia are currently conducting pre-clinical work involving safety and efficacy testing of the device.
“We are making sure that the device is safe to implant in a patient, that it functions as designed, and that it gives the expected form of electrical stimulation to the optic nerve fibres in the eye,” he says.
It is almost three decades since a team from the University developed the bionic ear, and Professor Burkitt says the same multidisciplinary approach – using biomedical engineers, clinical experts and neuroscientist from across the country – is the key to success with this development.
“To be successful, an implant must not only function reliably in terms of its electronics, it must also be made of biocompatible materials that will last the lifetime of the patient and it must also be possible for surgeons to implant the device without damaging either the device or the patient.”
Professor Guymer says it is a very exciting time for researchers at Bionic Vision Australia, and says that the hard work by all members of the group will soon pay off when the device is functioning and improving the quality of life for thousands.
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