Implantation of electronic visual prosthesis for blindness restoration

Abstract

Loss of sight significantly degrades the quality of human life. Various methods for restoring the vision of blind patients have been studied and range from biological ways to electronic devices. Ever since a visual prosthesis device demonstrated that electrical signals have the beneficial effect of generating phosphenes, their subsequent development has progressed rapidly. Implantation of an electronic prosthetic device in a visually-impaired person allows the individual to recognize the phase and movement of an object. In addition, several commercially approved prosthetic devices have demonstrated successful long-term stability. However, there are some challenges that need to be solved. In this work, we assess the current technology levels of retinal prosthesis devices (categorized by implant location), and then suggest possible directions for future retinal prosthesis devices. (C) 2019 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement