Successful implantation of 50-electrode artificial retina
13 January 2006
Zug, Switzerland. Intelligent Medical Implants AG (IMI) has announced
that its first-generation Learning Retinal Implant System, containing a
50-electrode device, was successfully implanted in two patients in December
2005. Clinical testing of this device with these two patients will commence
this month (January) at the University of Hamburg Medical School
,Germany, under principal investigator Dr. Gisbert Richard, Professor of
Ophthalmology.
Previously, the most complex retinal implant tested in humans was a
16-electrode array developed by one of IMI's US-based competitors.
"This latest milestone further strengthens our position as the global
frontrunner for learning retinal implants, which we expect will make it
possible for persons who have been blinded by retinal degenerative diseases,
such as Retinitis Pigmentosa, to restore some of their lost sight," said
Stephan Rietiker, Executive Board Member and CEO, Intelligent Medical
Implants AG
Also, IMI remains on schedule to initiate pivotal clinical trial in 2006
with its 231-electrode Learning Retinal Implant.
In a previous multi-site European clinical study performed with a
single-electrode, independent researchers reported that 19 of 20 totally
blind persons (95%) were able to see a small point of light. "These blind
persons had no visual perception whatsoever, yet nearly all of them were
able to 'see' with the stimulation of our single electrode," said Stephan
Rietiker.
"Considering that the retinal implants of other competing groups are
based on cochlear implant technology — a thoroughly dissimilar
approach that heightens the risk of adverse events —and given that our
first-generation implant is already more than three times more powerful than
the competition's, we remain steadfast in our assertion that IMI is now the
leader in the race to develop the world's first commercially available
artificial vision implant," said Dr. Rietiker.
"We reiterate that our initial target market is blind persons with
Retinitis Pigmentosa, one of the two most common causes of vision loss in
persons over the age of 50 by hereditary degenerative retinal diseases. RP
is considered irreversible, unfortunately, and no treatment or cure is known
to date. Several million people are affected worldwide," added Dr. Rietiker.
"We expect that our Learning Retinal Implant System will some day allow
patients to 'see' objects by identifying their size, their position and
their movements and shapes. In other words, a previously blind person, using
our retinal implant, is expected to be able to move independently in an
unknown environment — without the need for a guide dog or cane. No doubt,
the development of a wireless visual prosthesis that could be implanted
permanently with good results would be a colossal leap forward for the field
of artificial vision, and we believe that we are now well down that road."
About the learning retinal implant system
IMI's Learning Retinal Implant System replaces the signal-processing
functions of a healthy retina and provides input to the retinal nerve cells
(the ganglion cells) that, in turn, provide input to the optic nerve and the
brain.
The System comprises three main components:
- an implant, "The Retinal Stimulator", which is surgically placed
into the eye of a patient, who:
- wears a pair of spectacles containing an integrated mini-camera and
transmitter components for wireless signal and energy transmission ("The
Visual Interface"). Via a cable, the spectacles are connected to:
- "The Pocket Processor" worn at the patient's waist. This device
replaces the information processing function of the formally healthy
retina.
The use of a high-speed digital signal processor allows the provision of
"intelligent information" to the implant (and the nerve cells) by using
tuneable software to approximate the information processing normally carried
out by the healthy retina. The entire process enables patients to optimize
their visual perception during the learning phase. Indeed, using the
patient's feedback on perception as an input for the tuning of The Pocket
Processor is the unique, patent-protected feature of the System and
constitutes the 'learning' capability of the Learning Retinal Implant
System.
About Retinitis Pigmentosa
More than one million persons worldwide are affected by the hereditary
disease, Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), in which the light-sensitive cells of
the retina slowly degenerate and die. In about one-third of the affected
persons, the disease leads to total blindness over a period of years.
Scientific studies have shown, however, that certain adjoining nerve cells
remain intact even in persons blinded by the disease. Most persons with RP
develop early symptoms between the ages of 10 and 30. The most common first
symptom is difficulty in seeing in poor light, for example outdoors at dusk,
or in a dimly lit room.
A second symptom is reduction of the visual field, in which sight is lost
from the sides, or from above and below. This is often referred to as tunnel
vision. All RP conditions are progressive. There is currently no treatment
to cure RP or arrest its progress.
To top |