An optic nerve approach to the visual prosthesis
(2012)
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- Abstract
- (en) The earliest reported attempt to use electricity to treat diseases dates back to the 18th century. Since then huge advancements have led to implantable electrical stimulators for a number of ailments. Some are already clinically available such as the cardiac pacemaker and the cochlear implant and others are in development, like the deep brain stimulator for Parkinson’s, foot drop stimulator, vagal stimulator for epilepsy and of course the visual prosthesis. The development of a visual prosthesis is far more challenging than other neurostimulators since the modality of vision is much more complex than other sensory systems. A visual prosthesis needs to generate visual sensations in reproducible co-ordinates of the visual field and should also ideally control their other visual qualities such as brightness and colour. In order to achieve this an electrode is needed which delivers focal and precise stimulation and an accurate knowledge of the encoding of visual information should also be known. Unfortunately, our limited knowledge of the visual system does not allow us at present to recreate the signals that normally encode visual information. In fact it is unlikely that the visual system of a blind patient with a diseased retina even behaves in the same manner as that of a normal healthy retina. There are also major challenges involved in engineering the device, surgically implanting it, ensuring biocompatibility and rehabilitating vision. Despite this the realisation of a visual prosthesis is not far away. Remarkably, a relatively simple electrode and a basic stimulation algorithm can generate enough visual information that provides navigational vision to a person who previously had no perception of light. The initial steps have already been taken in the development of a device that will one day dramatically improve the standard of living to countless numbers of blind patients.
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Citations
Brelén, M. (2012). An optic nerve approach to the visual prosthesis. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/79358