Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Mar;42(3):334-347.
doi: 10.1080/02713683.2016.1270326. Epub 2017 Feb 26.

Advances in Retinal Prosthetic Research: A Systematic Review of Engineering and Clinical Characteristics of Current Prosthetic Initiatives

Derrick L Cheng  1 , Paul B Greenberg  2   3 , David A Borton  4   5
Affiliations
Review

Advances in Retinal Prosthetic Research: A Systematic Review of Engineering and Clinical Characteristics of Current Prosthetic Initiatives

Derrick L Cheng et al. Curr Eye Res. 2017 Mar.

Abstract

Purpose: To date, reviews of retinal prostheses have focused primarily on devices undergoing human trials in the Western Hemisphere and fail to capture significant advances in materials and engineering research in countries such as Japan and Korea, as well as projects in early stages of development. To address these gaps, this systematic review examines worldwide advances in retinal prosthetic research, evaluates engineering characteristics and clinical progress of contemporary device initiatives, and identifies potential directions for future research in the field of retinal prosthetics.

Methods: A literature search using PubMed, Google Scholar, and IEEExplore was conducted following the PRISMA Guidelines for Systematic Review. Inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed papers demonstrating progress in human or animal trials and papers discussing the prosthetic engineering design. For each initiative, a description of the device, its engineering considerations, and recent clinical results were provided.

Results: Ten prosthetic initiatives met our inclusion criteria and were organized by stimulation location. Of these initiatives, four have recently completed human trials, three are undergoing multi- or single-center human trials, and three are undergoing preclinical animal testing. Only the Argus II (FDA 2013, CE 2011) has obtained FDA approval for use in the United States; the Alpha-IMS (CE 2013) has achieved the highest visual acuity using a Landolt-C test to date and is the only device presently undergoing a multicenter clinical trial.

Conclusion: Several distinct approaches to retinal stimulation have been successful in eliciting visual precepts in animals and/or humans. However, many clinical needs are still not met and engineering challenges must be addressed before a retinal prosthesis with the capability to fully and safely restore functional vision can be realized.

Keywords: Bionic eye; retinal prosthesis; retinitis pigmentosa; visual prosthesis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

  • Bionic eye review - An update.
    Nowik K, Langwińska-Wośko E, Skopiński P, Nowik KE, Szaflik JP. Nowik K, et al. J Clin Neurosci. 2020 Aug;78:8-19. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2020.05.041. Epub 2020 Jun 19. J Clin Neurosci. 2020. PMID: 32571603 Review.
  • Retinal Prosthesis System for Advanced Retinitis Pigmentosa: A Health Technology Assessment.
    Health Quality Ontario. Health Quality Ontario. Ont Health Technol Assess Ser. 2016 Jun 1;16(14):1-63. eCollection 2016. Ont Health Technol Assess Ser. 2016. PMID: 27468325 Free PMC article. Review.
  • Five-Year Safety and Performance Results from the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System Clinical Trial.
    da Cruz L, Dorn JD, Humayun MS, Dagnelie G, Handa J, Barale PO, Sahel JA, Stanga PE, Hafezi F, Safran AB, Salzmann J, Santos A, Birch D, Spencer R, Cideciyan AV, de Juan E, Duncan JL, Eliott D, Fawzi A, Olmos de Koo LC, Ho AC, Brown G, Haller J, Regillo C, Del Priore LV, Arditi A, Greenberg RJ; Argus II Study Group. da Cruz L, et al. Ophthalmology. 2016 Oct;123(10):2248-54. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2016.06.049. Epub 2016 Jul 21. Ophthalmology. 2016. PMID: 27453256 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
  • Long-Term Results from an Epiretinal Prosthesis to Restore Sight to the Blind.
    Ho AC, Humayun MS, Dorn JD, da Cruz L, Dagnelie G, Handa J, Barale PO, Sahel JA, Stanga PE, Hafezi F, Safran AB, Salzmann J, Santos A, Birch D, Spencer R, Cideciyan AV, de Juan E, Duncan JL, Eliott D, Fawzi A, Olmos de Koo LC, Brown GC, Haller JA, Regillo CD, Del Priore LV, Arditi A, Geruschat DR, Greenberg RJ; Argus II Study Group. Ho AC, et al. Ophthalmology. 2015 Aug;122(8):1547-54. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2015.04.032. Epub 2015 Jul 8. Ophthalmology. 2015. PMID: 26162233 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
  • A review and update on the current status of retinal prostheses (bionic eye).
    Luo YH, da Cruz L. Luo YH, et al. Br Med Bull. 2014;109:31-44. doi: 10.1093/bmb/ldu002. Epub 2014 Feb 12. Br Med Bull. 2014. PMID: 24526779 Review.
See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

LinkOut - more resources

-