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Retinal microchips implanted in patients with RP
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A silicon retina chip to treat vision loss from retinitis pigmentosa has been implanted in a small number of patients, according to press releases from two universities.
Human clinical trials are under way in Atlanta, Chicago and Baltimore with the Artificial Silicon Retina (ASR) from Optobionics Corp. The implanted patients all have retinitis pigmentosa with moderate to severe vision loss, according to press releases from Rush University and Emory University. A pilot study of 10 patients implanted with the chip was completed in 2002.
The Optobionics device was implanted in four patients at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center, and three more patients are scheduled for implantation this month. A press release from Rush noted that patients will be followed for 2 years as part of the study, and then indefinitely.
The current protocol has been altered “to reduce the likelihood of inadvertent scientific bias,” said John Pollack, MD, in the Rush release.
“We operated on the right eye of each of the initial 10 patients,” he said. “For the next 20 patients we will randomly select which eye will receive the ASR chip. In addition, postoperative vision testers will be masked as to which eye received the ASR chip implant.”
The first 10 patients all reported some degree of visual function improvement, Dr. Pollack said.
The chip contains about 5,000 microscopic solar cells that convert light into electrical impulses. The chip’s purpose is to replace damaged photoreceptors.