The human eyes are a true evolutionary marvel, and are quite literally a sight to behold. Housing light-sensitive cells, these balls of tissue serve as one of the windows to the world for most of humanity. However, out of either genetics or circumstance, others out there are unable to see the world the way others do.
Luckily for those who wish to see more than what they currently can, researchers from a collaboration between the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the University of Sydney (USyd) produced the Phoenix99 Bionic Eye—and if there’s anything their recent results are telling, it’s that they are well on the way towards human trials. These results can be viewed in studies published in the journals Biomaterials and Data in Brief.
To be precise, these new marvels of biomedical engineering technologies aim to help those who suffer from degenerative eye diseases, like retinitis pigmentosa. (A similar case from earlier this year used gene therapy and the help of some algae to partially restore vision to one of these individuals who suffer from it.)
The “eye” in question is actually a set of devices, each with their own function to perform; a “communication” module that is to be implanted behind the patient’s ear, and a “stimulation” module that goes right inside the patient’s retina. Helping the other two is a camera mounted on a pair of glasses which the patient wears when in use.
Whatever images the camera sees is wirelessly transmitted to the communication module, which is responsible for converting the images to electrical pulses. These pulses are then sent to the stimulation module inside the eye, which are capable of bypassing any dysfunctional neurons within the eye; instead, the stimulation module directly interacts with the underlying retinal ganglion cells, which then relay the information to the brain through the optic nerve.
This particular milestone in human optics research is the latest in a long line of studies spanning decades, whose results aim to help those suffering from degenerative eye diseases and disorders. (In fact, a similar solution to a similar problem made headlines just months prior for their use of novel brain implants to restore vision.)
Said USyd biomedical engineering doctoral student Samuel Eggenberger, who worked on the project: “With regards to the quality of the restored vision, we know that it will be very different from what one would call normal vision. Similar concepts of electrical stimulation of the retina have been tested in humans around the world and the results have been very variable, but expectations should be that the prosthesis will provide simple information about the person’s surroundings such as detecting obstacles, with the purpose to help with navigation, orientation or even reading of big letters.”
Eggenberger, who studies under the tutelage of USyd School of Biomedical Engineering Head and co-author Prof. Gregg Suaning, continued: “Importantly, we found the device has a very low impact on the neurons required to ‘trick’ the brain. There were no unexpected reactions from the tissue around the device and we expect it could safely remain in place for many years.”
The team used a sheep model to check the biocompatibility of their novel implant, giving the team insights into how to proceed with surgical implantation of the devices in future trials. Next steps for Eggeberger, Suaning, and team, include the ethics approval for human trials.
Finally, Eggenberger noted in a USyd news release: “Our team is thrilled by this extraordinary result, which gives us confidence to push on towards human trials of the device. We hope that through this technology, people living with profound vision loss from degenerative retinal disorders may be able to regain a useful sense of vision.”
References
- Coxworth, B. (2021, December 3). ‘Sight’-restoring bionic eye proceeds along the path to human trials. New Atlas. https://newatlas.com/medical/phoenix99-bionic-eye-human-trials/
- Eggenberger, S. C., James, N. L., Ho, C., Eamegdool, S. S., Tatarinoff, V., Craig, N. A., Gow, B. S., Wan, S., Dodds, C. W. D., La Hood, D., Gilmour, A., Donahoe, S. L., Krockenberger, M., Tumuluri, K., da Cruz, M. J., Grigg, J. R., McCluskey, P., Lovell, N. H., Madigan, M. C., … Suaning, G. J. (2021a). Implantation and long-term assessment of the stability and biocompatibility of a novel 98 channel suprachoroidal visual prosthesis in sheep. Biomaterials, 279, 121191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2021.121191
- Eggenberger, S. C., James, N. L., Ho, C., Eamegdool, S. S., Tatarinoff, V., Craig, N. A., Gow, B. S., Wan, S., Dodds, C. W. D., La Hood, D., Gilmour, A., Donahoe, S. L., Krockenberger, M., Tumuluri, K., da Cruz, M. J., Grigg, J. R., McCluskey, P., Lovell, N. H., Madigan, M. C., … Suaning, G. J. (2021b). Safety and biocompatibility of a bionic eye: Imaging, intraocular pressure, and histology data. Data in Brief, 39, 107634. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2021.107634
- Low, L. (2021, December 1). Bionic eye study paves the way towards human trials. The University of Sydney. https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2021/12/01/bionic-eye-study-paves-the-way-towards-human-trials.html
