Restoration of vision in blind individuals using bionic devices: a review with a focus on cortical visual prostheses
- PMID:25446438
- DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2014.11.020
Restoration of vision in blind individuals using bionic devices: a review with a focus on cortical visual prostheses
Abstract
The field of neurobionics offers hope to patients with sensory and motor impairment. Blindness is a common cause of major sensory loss, with an estimated 39 million people worldwide suffering from total blindness in 2010. Potential treatment options include bionic devices employing electrical stimulation of the visual pathways. Retinal stimulation can restore limited visual perception to patients with retinitis pigmentosa, however loss of retinal ganglion cells precludes this approach. The optic nerve, lateral geniculate nucleus and visual cortex provide alternative stimulation targets, with several research groups actively pursuing a cortically-based device capable of driving several hundred stimulating electrodes. While great progress has been made since the earliest works of Brindley and Dobelle in the 1960s and 1970s, significant clinical, surgical, psychophysical, neurophysiological, and engineering challenges remain to be overcome before a commercially-available cortical implant will be realized. Selection of candidate implant recipients will require assessment of their general, psychological and mental health, and likely responses to visual cortex stimulation. Implant functionality, longevity and safety may be enhanced by careful electrode insertion, optimization of electrical stimulation parameters and modification of immune responses to minimize or prevent the host response to the implanted electrodes. Psychophysical assessment will include mapping the positions of potentially several hundred phosphenes, which may require repetition if electrode performance deteriorates over time. Therefore, techniques for rapid psychophysical assessment are required, as are methods for objectively assessing the quality of life improvements obtained from the implant. These measures must take into account individual differences in image processing, phosphene distribution and rehabilitation programs that may be required to optimize implant functionality. In this review, we detail these and other challenges facing developers of cortical visual prostheses in addition to briefly outlining the epidemiology of blindness, and the history of cortical electrical stimulation in the context of visual prosthetics.
Keywords: Bionic eye; Bionics; Blindness; Cortical implant; Vision.
Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Similar articles
- Advances in implantable bionic devices for blindness: a review.Lewis PM, Ayton LN, Guymer RH, Lowery AJ, Blamey PJ, Allen PJ, Luu CD, Rosenfeld JV.Lewis PM, et al.ANZ J Surg. 2016 Sep;86(9):654-9. doi: 10.1111/ans.13616. Epub 2016 Jun 14.ANZ J Surg. 2016.PMID:27301783Free PMC article.Review.
- The potential of the second sight system bionic eye implant for partial sight restoration.Luo YH, Fukushige E, Da Cruz L.Luo YH, et al.Expert Rev Med Devices. 2016 Jul;13(7):673-81. doi: 10.1080/17434440.2016.1195257. Epub 2016 Jun 22.Expert Rev Med Devices. 2016.PMID:27247995Review.
- Electrical stimulation of the brain and the development of cortical visual prostheses: An historical perspective.Lewis PM, Rosenfeld JV.Lewis PM, et al.Brain Res. 2016 Jan 1;1630:208-24. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2015.08.038. Epub 2015 Sep 5.Brain Res. 2016.PMID:26348986Review.
- Contemporary approaches to visual prostheses.Mirochnik RM, Pezaris JS.Mirochnik RM, et al.Mil Med Res. 2019 Jun 5;6(1):19. doi: 10.1186/s40779-019-0206-9.Mil Med Res. 2019.PMID:31167653Free PMC article.Review.
- Evaluation of extraocular electrodes for a retinal prosthesis using evoked potentials in cat visual cortex.Chowdhury V, Morley JW, Coroneo MT.Chowdhury V, et al.J Clin Neurosci. 2005 Jun;12(5):574-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2004.10.004.J Clin Neurosci. 2005.PMID:16051097
Cited by
- Improvements in vision-related quality of life in blind patients implanted with the Argus II Epiretinal Prosthesis.Duncan JL, Richards TP, Arditi A, da Cruz L, Dagnelie G, Dorn JD, Ho AC, Olmos de Koo LC, Barale PO, Stanga PE, Thumann G, Wang Y, Greenberg RJ.Duncan JL, et al.Clin Exp Optom. 2017 Mar;100(2):144-150. doi: 10.1111/cxo.12444. Epub 2016 Aug 25.Clin Exp Optom. 2017.PMID:27558213Free PMC article.
- Performance of complex visual tasks using simulated prosthetic vision via augmented-reality glasses.Ho E, Boffa J, Palanker D.Ho E, et al.J Vis. 2019 Nov 1;19(13):22. doi: 10.1167/19.13.22.J Vis. 2019.PMID:31770773Free PMC article.
- Differential Modulation of Excitatory and Inhibitory Neurons during Periodic Stimulation.Mahmud M, Vassanelli S.Mahmud M, et al.Front Neurosci. 2016 Feb 25;10:62. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2016.00062. eCollection 2016.Front Neurosci. 2016.PMID:26941602Free PMC article.
- Transparent and Conformal Microcoil Arrays for Spatially Selective Neuronal Activation.Raghuram V, Datye AD, Fried SI, Timko BP.Raghuram V, et al.Device. 2024 Apr 19;2(4):100290. doi: 10.1016/j.device.2024.100290. Epub 2024 Mar 5.Device. 2024.PMID:39184953
- Interaction of electrically evoked activity with intrinsic dynamics of cultured cortical networks with and without functional fast GABAergic synaptic transmission.Baltz T, Voigt T.Baltz T, et al.Front Cell Neurosci. 2015 Jul 17;9:272. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2015.00272. eCollection 2015.Front Cell Neurosci. 2015.PMID:26236196Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
Related information
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources