Taiwan to conduct clinical trials for artificial retinal implant

The National Chiao Tung University will collaborate with China Medical University Hospital in central Taiwan's Taichung City to carry out the medical procedures on patients, Wu Chung-yu, president of the university said Tuesday.

Such medical procedures are currently being developed by private companies and research institutions in other parts of the world and are meant to partially restore vision to people who have lost their sight due to degenerative eye conditions.

Patients to be involved in the clinical trials in Taiwan will be visually-impaired people whose conditions are not congenital, including those who suffer from degenerative eye conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa, retinal detachment, or those suffering from age-related macular degeneration, according to Wu.

The procedure involves surgically implanting a special microchip behind the retina, at the back of the eyeball, to restore partial sight to the visually impaired, Wu explained.

The chip studded with a varying number of electrodes is part of retinal prostheses that link with the brain and nervous system and may help restore some vision by electrically stimulating nerve cells that normally carry visual input from the retina to the brain, according to Wu.

The surgery requires about one to two hours, Wu said.

Jeng Long-bin, an executive at the hospital, indicated that most cases of artificial retinal implants in Europe and the United States involve patients with retinitis pigmentosa and those suffering from age-related macular degeneration.

In Taiwan, many cases of retinal detachment are associated with high myopia, age-related diabetes and prematurity. The two institutions hope to help sufferers of such conditions regain their eyesight through artificial retinal implants, Jeng added.

The Department of Health has approved the artificial retina project and a research team for retinal implant clinical trials will be assembled to evaluate and conduct clinical trials.

The clinical trials research team will soon head for the United States for training and will complete the establishment of a databank of prospective patients that would be enrolled in the trials, according to Jeng.

The team plans to implant the device in three patients every year and a total of 10 patients by 2010. After the surgery, patients are expected to see points of light, and feel the motion and differentiate shapes of objects, Jeng added.

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