AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION CURRENT INVESTIGATIONS AND TREATMENTS

agerelatedmaculardeg774enerationkapak

ADVANCED TREATMENTS AND INNOVATIONS- RETINAL IMPLANTS AND BIONIC EYES

Menekşe İnal Özen

Kastamonu Training and Research Hospital, Department of Ophthalmology, Kastamonu, Türkiye

İnal Özen M. Advanced Treatments and InnovatıonsRetinal Implants and Bionic Eyes. In: Çıtırık M, Şekeryapan Gediz B, editors. Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Current Investigations and Treatments. 1st ed. Ankara: Türkiye Klinikleri; 2025. p.251-262.

ABSTRACT

Retinal implants are devices that can transmit visual stimuli directly to the retina or brain, especially for individuals who have vision loss due to diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP). These prostheses aim to restore visual function through electrical stimulation. Retinal prostheses receive visual information from the external environment via a camera or photodiode, process it and convert it into electrical signals, and transmit it to the retinal ganglion cells or directly to the visual cortex, creating artificial vision in the form of phosphenes. This section will discuss implant types such as epiretinal, subretinal, suprachoroidal, and cortical implants. Epiretinal implants are placed on the retina’s anterior surface to stimulate the ganglion cells. The Argus II is the most well-known implant and is CE and FDA approved. Subretinal devices are placed under the retinal pigment epithelium in the photoreceptor layer. It has been determined that the subretinally placed PRIMA implant preserves peripheral vision, which is important for AMD patients. Suprachoroidal implants are designed to be placed between the choroid and sclera. Cortical implants stimulate the visual cortex of the occipital lobe of the brain. Although retinal implants provide limited vision, they help patients perform daily activities more independently by increasing their environmental awareness. In the future, it is aimed to further improve visual function with more advanced and high-resolution implant systems.

Keywords: Argus II; Geographic atrophy; Visual prosthesis; Photovoltaic retinal implant; Age-related macular degeneration

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