UPDATE 7/8/09

Professor John Marshall, a senior ophthalmologist at King’s College, London, has developed a short pulse laser technique which can delay the onset of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of sight loss in Britain.

About 200,000 people in the UK are currently registered as blind or partially sighted because of AMD, which damages the part of the retina responsible for precise vision.

Professor Marshall, who pioneered laser eye surgery to cure short-sightedness, said the “retinal rejuvenation” treatment could delay the effect of ageing without damaging any other cells.

The technique works by stimulating enzymes to remove waste material from a thin membrane behind the retina, called Bruch’s membrane. Improvements to sight were reported after the treatment was used in a clinical trial involving more than 100 diabetics.

“The treatment is really treating ageing,” Professor Marshall said.

Source: Times Newspapers Ltd.

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Birge, won the 2009 Connecticut Medal of Science

Birge, 63, also launched a start-up company that will eventually manufacture an artificial retinal implant for humans. The company will start on campus, then eventually move to its own offices, likely near a hospital in Connecticut, he said. Birge’s research involves using biological molecules to make electronic components. Specifically he uses a protein from an archaea, an ancient saltwater organism. The protein, remarkably similar to the protein found in the back of the eye, can convert light into energy.

Latest on the implantable Bionic Eye at

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Predicted is a Bionic Eye by 2020

Image Source: National Geographic Society
Abstract

“A visual prosthesis is an artificial organ to restore the sight of blind patients with electrical stimulation to the visual nervous system. Dr. Yagi has been conducting two types of the visual prosthesis; a biohybird implant and a retinal implant.

In academia, Dr. Yagi’s group has been conducting basic research and system design/integration on a biohybird retinal implant, which consists of cultured neurons on MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems). Axons of the neurons will be guided with an axon-guiding material such as a peripheral nerve graft, or a tube, which is filled with the Schwann cells and the extra cellular matrix. Therefore, the transplanted neurons will be used as living electric wires in order to connect the MEMS and the central nervous system. Since the hybrid retinal implant requires neither the retinal ganglion cells nor the optic nerve, it will be more applicable to blind diseases where the retinal ganglion cells and/or the optic nerve are NOT intact.”

Source: Visual Prosthesis
(Retinal Implant & Biohybrid Retinal Implant)
Tokyo Institute of Technology Shimizu and Yagi Laboratory
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Source: Professor Nigel Lovell

“A working bionic eye could be an Australian world first by 2020 if action is taken quickly, leading researchers at the University of New South Wales say.

The bionic eye was identified as a key health goal for Australia at the 2020 Summit, held in Canberra on April 19-20, and Professor Nigel Lovell, from the UNSW Australian Vision Prosthesis Group (AVPG), said a functional device can be a reality within 12 years with a concerted national effort.

“There are already some overseas trials of rudimentary bionic eye devices but we have certain designs which are more advanced,” said Professor Lovell.

“We need to act now if we want to take advantage of our technical edge”…

“This isn’t going to cost anything like a space program,” Associate Professor Suaning said. “We can get it done here in Australia with local funding – we are talking millions, not billions.”

Read the full article:
“Australian bionic eye can be reality by 2020″

Media contacts:
Professor Nigel Lovell, UNSW Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Australian Vision Prosthesis Group: 02 9385 3922
Associate Professor Gregg Suaning, UNSW Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Australian Vision Prosthesis Group: 02 9385 3892

UNSW Media Office: Peter Trute 02 9385 1933, 0410 271 826, p.trute@unsw.edu.au

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