Investigator, Asst Prof (M) Neurosurgery, Mass General Research Institute

Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery Harvard Medical School

age-related macular degeneration; artificial vision; deep brain stimulation; electrodes implanted; geniculate bodies; microelectrodes; thalamus; vision restoration; visual pathways; visual perception; visual prosthesis

The Visual Prosthesis Laboratory is developing a device-based therapy to correct complete vision loss due to diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, glaucoma, and optic neuritis, along with vision loss due to trauma to the eyes.

In cases where the eye is no longer sensitive to light, the remainder of the visual system is often intact, but unable to respond to external stimulation. We are utilizing the highly advanced techniques of deep brain stimulation to provide an alternate pathway for visual information to enter the brain by implanting electrodes in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus (LGN) and sending processed information from eyeglass-mounted digital cameras into the visual pathway one stage after the eyes.

---