Restoring Sight to the Blind: Neural Imaging with Retinal Prostheses

恢复盲人视力：使用视网膜假体进行神经成像

• 批准号: 10041440
• 负责人: Noelle Stiles
• 金额: $ 10.52万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-09-30 至 2022-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10041440
• 关键词: Advisory Committees; Age related macular degeneration; Artificial Implants; Auditory; Auditory Perception; Basic Science; Biomedical Engineering; Blindness; Brain; Brain region; Case Study; Cell Survival; Cochlear Implants; Control Groups; Data; Data Collection; Devices; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Engineering; Evaluation; Exhibits; Eye; Faculty; Foundations; Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Head; Image; Imagination; Implant; Individual; Investigation; Location; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Mentors; Methods; Michigan; Microelectrodes; Motion Perception; Neurosciences; Ocular Prosthesis; Operative Surgical Procedures; Ophthalmology; Optic Chiasm; Outcome; Participant; Pathway interactions; Patient Selection; Patient-Focused Outcomes; Patients; Perception; Phase; Population; Positioning Attribute; Process; Property; Prosthesis; Prosthesis Implantation; Psychophysics; Recovery; Rehabilitation Outcome; Research; Retina; Retinitis Pigmentosa; Scanning; Selection Criteria; Sensory; Sensory Deprivation; Shapes; Sound Localization; Stimulus; Structure; Tactile; Testing; Therapeutic; Thick; Training; Translational Research; Universities; Vision; Visual; Visual Cortex; Visual Pathways; Visual Perception; Visual impairment; Visualization; Visually Impaired Persons; Work; behavior test; blind; career; deprivation; design; faculty research; falls; feeding; flexibility; functional outcomes; gene therapy; implantable device; implantation; improved; multimodality; neuroimaging; preimplantation; programs; relating to nervous system; restoration; retinal imaging; retinal prosthesis; sensory integration; sight for the blind; skills; stem cell therapy; tenure track; visual information; visual processing; visual stimulus

Project Summary – Restoring Sight to the Blind: Neural Imaging with Retinal Prostheses Retinal prostheses restore sight to the blind by electrically stimulating still viable cells in the retina. These devices consist of a microstimulator array attached to the retina that is driven by video input from a glasses-mounted camera. Retinal prostheses have been shown to restore basic visual functions such as the recognition of shapes and rudimentary navigation. However, patients show significant variability in visual skills, and currently fall short of expected visual capabilities. The postdoctoral research proposed in this study focuses on explaining these patient limitations by investigating the sensory reorganization that occurs during blindness. Neural reorganization during blindness enables auditory and tactile tasks to be processed in visual brain regions. This type of reorganization in brain sensory regions was shown to be a key limiting factor in the use of the cochlear implant for artificial audition. In Aims 1 and 2 of this proposal, Dr. Noelle Stiles will evaluate blindness- induced cortical reorganization and adaptation with neural imaging in retinal prosthesis patients, which in turn could allow for better selection of patients for visual restoration. Dr. Stiles’ postdoctoral work is also focused on investigating the interaction of artificial vision with the natural senses, such as audition. Her research has already shown that artificial vision influences auditory localization in ways similar to natural vision’s influence on audition. In Aim 3, she will expand this research to determine whether enhanced auditory and tactile perception developed during blindness are retained or reduced following the restoration of vision. This project will provide a more complete understanding of blind brain reorganization and the effects of artificial vision. Aim 1 will be completed during the K99 phase (pilot data collection is complete). Aims 2 and 3 will continue through the K99 and R00 phases, allowing for fellow training and data piloting. The proposed research is designed to prepare Dr. Stiles for successful transition to a tenure- track faculty position. She will receive training in structural neural imaging data collection, processing, and visualization from Prof. Yonggang Shi. She will also be trained in ophthalmological retinal imaging by her principal mentor Prof. Vivek R. Patel at USC, and in biomedical engineering by her co-mentor Prof. James D. Weiland at the University of Michigan. All of these fields are critical to the study of visual prostheses. She will be mentored by an advisory committee including Profs. Mark S. Humayun, Arthur W. Toga, and Yonggang Shi. Both USC and Michigan have retinal prosthesis implantation and behavioral testing programs involving clinicians, engineers, and visual neuroscientists, in addition to state of the art neuroimaging facilities, making them ideal locations for this research.

项目摘要 – 恢复盲人视力：使用视网膜假体进行神经成像 视网膜假体通过电刺激视网膜中仍然存活的细胞来恢复盲人的视力 这些设备由附着在视网膜上的微刺激器阵列组成，由视频驱动。 来自安装在眼镜上的摄像头的输入已被证明可以恢复基本的视觉。 然而，患者表现出诸如形状识别和基本导航等功能。 视觉技能存在显着差异，目前未达到预期的视觉能力。 本研究提出的博士后研究重点是解释这些患者的局限性 通过研究失明期间发生的感觉重组。 失明使得听觉和触觉任务能够在视觉大脑区域中进行处理。 大脑感觉区域的重组被证明是使用耳蜗的关键限制因素 在该提案的目标 1 和 2 中，Noelle Stiles 博士将评估失明情况- 通过神经成像诱导视网膜假体患者的皮质重组和适应， 反过来可以更好地选择患者进行视力恢复。 Stiles 博士的博士后工作还专注于研究人工视觉的相互作用 她的研究已经表明，人工视觉可以与自然感官相结合。 在《目标 3》中，她以类似于自然视觉对听觉的影响的方式影响听觉定位。 将扩大这项研究以确定是否增强了听觉和触觉感知 该项目将在失明期间保留或减少视力恢复后的情况。 更全面地了解盲人大脑重组和人工视觉的影响。 目标 1 将在 K99 阶段完成（试点数据收集已完成）。 将继续完成 K99 和 R00 阶段，以便进行同伴培训和数据试点。 拟议的研究旨在帮助斯泰尔斯博士为成功过渡到终身教授做好准备。 她将接受结构神经成像数据收集、处理、 她还将接受眼科视网膜成像方面的培训。 由她在南加州大学的首席导师 Vivek R. Patel 教授教授，以及她的共同导师在生物医学工程方面的教授 密歇根大学的 James D. Weiland 教授所有这些领域对于视觉研究都至关重要。 她将接受包括 Mark S. Humayun 教授、Arthur 教授在内的顾问委员会的指导。 W. Toga 和 Yonggang Shi。南加州大学和密歇根大学都进行了视网膜假体植入术。 行为测试项目涉及新人、工程师和视觉神经科学家，此外 最先进的神经影像设施，使它们成为这项研究的理想场所。