Objective
Vision restoration in patients with outer retinal degenerative diseases, such as Age-related Macular Degeneration and Retinitis Pigmentosa can be achieved by bypassing the degenerated photoreceptors and the electrical stimulation of the relatively well-preserved inner retina through electrode implants. Although current retinal prostheses have been shown to provide useful vision in blind patients, the obtained visual acuity and quality are still relatively low. Several challenges cannot be addressed with the current retinal prosthetic technologies. First, increasing the electrode density for achieving high visual acuity is limited by the distance between the electrodes and the target neurons. Second, electrical stimulation by the current technologies is not selective for specific retinal circuitry (e.g. ON and OFF pathways). Finally, retinal neurons are stimulated by pulsed rather than in a continuously graded potential fashion, which provides the photoreceptors with an unrivalled dynamic range and sensitivity in natural vision.
Here we propose a paradigm shift toward sight restoration with a hybrid retinal prosthesis aimed at overcoming the aforementioned limitations. The hybrid implant is composed of a very high density electrode array (pixel distance of 15µm) coupled with neurons to create a tight neuron-electrode coupling. Following implantation of the hybrid prosthesis, the neurons integrate and synapse with the host retinal circuits. Upon patterned electrical stimulation of the neurons by the electrodes, the host bipolar cells are activated while preserving the natural vision circuits. The ultimate electrode-neurons proximity allows for the significant increase in pixel density, the low charge neural activation, and the continuous graded potential activation. This research can advance our knowledge in the retinal field and in other neural prosthetics and if successful, it will enable future vision restoration with unprecedented resolution.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine ophthalmology
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology implants
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-STG - Starting Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2017-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
52900 Ramat Gan
Israel
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.