[Nfbf-l] "Race for a Cure" Nouvelle Lumière: French Bionic Retina called Pixium in a Human Study

[Alan Dicey]

Dear Friends,
Another Company which has tjoined the "Race to Cure Blindness"!
I understand there are now 27 companies that are working toward a "Technical 
Solution".
With Best Regards,
God Bless,
Alan
Plantation, Florida

Nouvelle Lumière: French Bionic Retina in a Human Study
By Dr. Steve Rose
On December 31, 2013
There's no doubt that 2013 was a milestone year for bionic retinas. 
Previously approved for sale in Europe, Second Sight's Argus II Retinal 
Prosthesis System received marketing approval in February from the U.S. Food 
and Drug Administration. Also, in July, Retina Implant AG gained European 
marketing approval for its Alpha IMS retinal implant.

While these two devices were in the media spotlight, a French retinal 
implant developer called Pixium quietly launched a clinical trial for its 
Intelligent Retinal Implant System 1 (IRIS1) in France, Austria and Germany. 
The company also recently received $20 million in venture-capital funding to 
boost advancement of the device.
A video on Pixium's website provides a nice overview of the company and its 
IRIS technologies. To see it, click on the image below or copy it and paste 
it into your browser:
https://www.blindness.org/blog/index.php/nouvelle-lumiere-french-bionic-retina-in-a-human-study/
In 2011, Pixium was spun off from the Institut de la Vision and Univeristé 
Pierre et Marie Curie. You might recognize the name of one of its 
co-founders, José Sahel, M.D. He's funded by the Foundation for a number of 
highly promising research projects, including the development of optogenetic 
and vision-preserving gene therapies.
Pixium is also collaborating with the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique 
(French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission), Hopital des 
Quinze Vingts (French National Eye Hospital) and a graduate school of 
engineering known as ESIEE Paris.
The IRIS1 consists of a small implant attached to the inner layer of the 
retina, a camera mounted on a pair of glasses and a pocket computer for 
image processing. The camera receives images that are processed, then sent 
to the implant, which converts them into electrical signals that are routed 
back to the brain, where they are interpreted as vision. The IRIS1 is 
designed to produce images of 150 pixels.
In future generations of the IRIS, advanced camera technology will capture 
and process images more like the human eye does. Likewise, the implant will 
produce higher-resolution visual information from those images, so the brain 
can create a more detailed and natural visual experience for the user.
The IRIS2 is being developed to produce 300-pixel images, and the IRIS3 
5,000-pixel images, which Pixium researchers believe is more than enough for 
users to recognize faces and navigate new environments. Clinical trials for 
the IRIS2 and IRIS3 are expected to begin in 2014 and 2015, respectively.
Initial results for the IRIS1 human study are expected in 2014. Stay tuned 
to Eye on the Cure or FFB's website for an update.
Images courtesy of Pixium.


This entry is filed under Diseases, Prosthetics, Research and tagged argus 
II, Institut de la Vision, Intelligent Retinal Implant System, Pixium, 
second sight.
4 Responses to 'Nouvelle Lumière: French Bionic Retina in a Human Study'
 THERESA BECKER says:
January 7, 2014 at 3:47 pm
2 SONS WITH RP
Reply
 Eye on the Cure says:
January 8, 2014 at 9:24 am
Hi Theresa,
We would like to point you to a few places on our website that will provide 
some useful information. Be sure to visit our section on RP:
http://www.blindness.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=67
There is a section on this page that discusses research advancements. While 
there is no cure for RP, much research is being done.
We often report on new research advancements and so we encourage you to 
check out our RP written articles information
http://www.blindness.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=65&Itemid=121
We hope you find this information helpful. Please let us know if there is 
anything else we can help you with.