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Retinal implant

A retinal implant is a microchip or a tiny computer device that is surgically inserted in the retina of the eye. It stimulates the light receptors contained in the retina in order to restore eyesight. The retina is found at the back portion of the eye, and transmits signals to the brain about the images it receives. For patients with degenerative eye conditions and other age-related eye disorders, light receptors in the retina often malfunction, die or decrease in number. These often lead to the progressive decline of vision and eventually, to blindness.

Subretinal implant and epiretinal implant are the two types of retinal implants. A subretinal implant is mainly inserted beneath the retina. An epiretinal implant, on the other hand, is placed above the retina. Either of them work in restoring vision by powering light-sensitive cells in the retina and allowing the transmission of messages from the eyes to the brain.

Retinal implant patients are generally between 18 and 78 years old, often diagnosed with degenerative eye conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa, choroideremia, or macular degeneration. Retinitis pigmentosa is an inherited eye problem resulting in the progressive destruction of the retina. Choroideremia is also an inherited eye disease affecting mainly men, while macular degeneration is often a result of old age. These patients have been blind for less than 20 years, but they also had use of their vision for at least 12 years.

Macular degeneration

Dry macular degeneration is a chronic eye disease that causes vision loss in the center of your field of vision. Dry macular degeneration is marked by deterioration of the macula (MAK-u-luh), which is in the center of the retina. The layer of tissue on the inside back wall of your eyeball.

Dry macular degeneration is one of two types of age-related macular degeneration. The other type — wet macular degeneration — is characterized by blood vessels that grow under the retina in the back of the eye, leaking blood and fluid. Dry macular degeneration is the more common form of the disease.

Dry macular degeneration may worsen your quality of life by causing blurred central vision or a blind spot in your central vision. You need clear central vision for many tasks, such as reading, driving and recognizing faces

Retinal transplant

Retinal transplant seems to be the new buzzword doing the rounds in medical circles nowadays after eye surgeons asserted that they may be able to restore sight to some blind people with such a transplant mechanism.

Preliminary research has shown encouraging results with transplantation of retinal cells in patients with blindness caused by retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).