Army Research into Vision Prosthetic Prototypes From: Medical Design Technology - 08/09/2016 The Clinical and Rehabilitative Medicine Research Program, on behalf of the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), released the Vision Prosthesis Pilot Study Award funding opportunity in 2015. This initiative sought to fund research exploring novel technologies contributing to the development of a working visual prosthesis prototype for individuals who have sustained severe macular degenerate or traumatic eye injury. The USAMRMC is now announcing the three successful awardees. For those with severe injury in both eyes, as sometimes occurs with blast injuries, both the eyes and the optic nerves may be damaged. As a result, making the connection of an image from the prosthetic eye to the brain is a challenge. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the Boston Retinal Implant Project (BRIP) group has developed a wireless and implantable neural prosthesis for use in the retina. However, this device relies on a functional optic nerve. With this award Dr. Joseph Rizzo's team, from Massachusetts Eye and Ear, will develop and test a prosthesis to electrically stimulate the lateral geniculate nucleus - a key relay center in the brain's visual processing pathway - that will allow signals to skip over the damaged optic nerve and reach visual centers in the brain. Dr. Andrew Weitz and his team from University of Southern California, Roski Eye Institute, have focused on the difficulty of generating precise images with a cortical visual prosthesis. Dr. Joseph Kao, professor of physiology at University of Maryland School of Medicine Center for Biomedical Engineering & Technology (BioMET), is exploring the use of optical photo stimulation using focused light flashes to photo-release neurotransmitter molecules that stimulate neurons in the brain's visual cortex. Read the entire article at: https://www.mdtmag.com/news/2016/08/army-research-vision-prosthetic-prototypes Links: Vision Prosthesis Pilot Study http://www.federalgrants.com/DoD-FY15-Vision-Prosthesis-Pilot-Study-Award-51493.html Army Medicine Opens the Door for Vision Prosthetic Prototypes http://cdmrp.army.mil/dmrdp/research_highlights/16rizzo_highlight.shtml Vision Research Program http://cdmrp.army.mil/vrp/default.shtml Army Medicine Opens Door for Vision Prosthetic Prototypes http://www.rdmag.com/news/2016/08/army-medicine-opens-door-vision-prosthetic-prototypes