Longevity science

Just like other parts of the body, the retina needs oxygen in order to survive. If it doesn’t receive enough – should its blood supply be restricted, for instance – permanent blindness can result.

The sooner that doctors know if a patient’s retina is receiving insufficient oxygen, the better the chances that they can take action in time. Soon, they may be able to use tiny injectable robots to get them the information they need.

University of Sheffield researchers have developed a new method for producing membranes to help in the grafting of stem cells onto the eye, mimicking structural features of the eye itself.

The technology has been designed to treat damage to the cornea, the transparent layer on the front of the eye, which is one of the major causes of blindness in the world.

Here you can see an animation of the bionic eye being developed in Melbourne, Australia by the Bionic Vision Australia consortium.

We reported on this implant earlier in the month.

http://www.scoop.it/t/longevity-science/p/2556266512/first-australian-bionic-eye-prototype-successfully-implanted

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Atlanta's Emory University have developed microneedles less than a millimeter in length that can deliver drug molecules and particles to the region in the back of eye.

The new technology provides an alternative to current methods which are either invasive, with drugs being injected into the center of the eye, or based on eyedrops, which are limited in their effectiveness

For some time geneticists have known that stem cells in zebrafish can replace damaged vision cells.

This study showed that cone damage, rather than just rod damage, is possible with these stem cells.

Artificial implanted lenses, such as those used to treat cataracts, can create visual distortions.

A new technology, however, now allows for the fabrication of lenses that refract light in the same fashion as the lens in the human eye.

Researchers have deciphered the neural code used by mouse ganglion cells, and used it to create a prosthesis that reportedly restores normal vision to blind mice.

They have additionally deciphered the neural code of monkeys, which is close to that used by humans, so a device for use by blind people could also be on the way.

At least 25-30 million people worldwide have age-related macular degeneration (AMD), one of the leading causes of blindness in middle-aged and older adults.

Israeli start-up Nano Retina has announced its new Bio-Retina, a tiny array of photodetectors which can be implanted directly on the retinal surface. Ready to enter clinical trials in 2013, the Bio-Retina restores vision to AMD sufferers almost immediately following the simple implantation process.