Around 80 MDS members and friends from the RP Society attended the first MDS meeting of 2009 at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre. We signed up 4 new members, and 24 renewed their membership during registration. We are most grateful to Prof Au Eong Kah Guan, of the Singapore International Eye Cataract Retina Centre, for his fascinating talk on “Artificial Vision”. Prof Au Eong is also our MDS advisor, and has been instrumental in growing our support group. The large turnout testifies to members’ interest in the topic!
Prof Au Eong did a great job of “translating” this highly technical subject into concepts and terms which left us all with a better understanding of what “Artificial Vision” means, what is the current stage of medical research, and what we can anticipate in future. He explained that retinal prostheses are currently being developed to provide some sight to subjects blinded from outer retinal degenerations, such as advanced Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a genetic eye disease that causes blindness.
An American company, Second Sight® Medical Products, Inc. is currently, the leading developer of retinal prostheses. The company conducted its first clinical study - on its devise, Argus I - in 2002. During that study, six RP volunteers were implanted with the Argus I system.
Results were encouraging, and the enrollment for the ArgusTM II Retinal Implant study has recently been launched in the United States, Europe and Mexico for people with advanced RP. The Argus II consists of a 60-electrode grid that is surgically implanted on the retina. These electrodes transmit information acquired from an external video camera that is mounted on a pair of eyeglasses worn by implanted subjects.
Prof Au Eong cautioned that there is a long way to go before patients will be driving and reading the fine print with such devices. While it is true that medical advances are steadily being made, he ended his talk on a note of caution. It is very important to maintain realistic expectations. So perhaps in the lifetimes of our younger members, some of our hopes for artificial vision can be realised.
Prof Au Eong did a great job of “translating” this highly technical subject into concepts and terms which left us all with a better understanding of what “Artificial Vision” means, what is the current stage of medical research, and what we can anticipate in future. He explained that retinal prostheses are currently being developed to provide some sight to subjects blinded from outer retinal degenerations, such as advanced Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a genetic eye disease that causes blindness.
An American company, Second Sight® Medical Products, Inc. is currently, the leading developer of retinal prostheses. The company conducted its first clinical study - on its devise, Argus I - in 2002. During that study, six RP volunteers were implanted with the Argus I system.
Results were encouraging, and the enrollment for the ArgusTM II Retinal Implant study has recently been launched in the United States, Europe and Mexico for people with advanced RP. The Argus II consists of a 60-electrode grid that is surgically implanted on the retina. These electrodes transmit information acquired from an external video camera that is mounted on a pair of eyeglasses worn by implanted subjects.
Prof Au Eong cautioned that there is a long way to go before patients will be driving and reading the fine print with such devices. While it is true that medical advances are steadily being made, he ended his talk on a note of caution. It is very important to maintain realistic expectations. So perhaps in the lifetimes of our younger members, some of our hopes for artificial vision can be realised.
1 comment:
Fascinating article!
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