Visual percepts evoked with an intracortical 96-channel microelectrode array inserted in human occipital cortex

BACKGROUND. A long-held goal of vision therapy is to transfer information directly to the visual cortex of blind individuals, thereby restoring a rudimentary form of sight. However, no clinically available cortical visual prosthesis yet exists. METHODS. We implanted an intracortical microelectrode a...

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Authors: Fernandez, E; Alfaro, A; Soto-Sanchez, C; Gonzalez-Lopez, P; Lozano, AM; Pena, S; Grima, MD; Rodil, A; Gomez, B; Chen, X; Roelfsema, PR; Rolston, JD; Davis, TS; Normann, RA
Format: Article
Status:Published version
Publication date:2021
Country:España
Institution:Instituto de Investigación Biomédica y Sanitaria de Alicante (ISABIAL)
Repository:r-ISABIAL. Repositorio Institucional de Producción Científica del Instituto de Investigación Biomédica y Sanitaria de Alicante
OAI Identifier:oai:isabial.fundanetsuite.com:p7566
Online Access:https://isabial.portalinvestigacion.com/publicaciones7566
Access Level:Open access
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author Fernandez, E
author2 Alfaro, A
Soto-Sanchez, C
Gonzalez-Lopez, P
Lozano, AM
Pena, S
Grima, MD
Rodil, A
Gomez, B
Chen, X
Roelfsema, PR
Rolston, JD
Davis, TS
Normann, RA
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author_browse Alfaro, A
Chen, X
Davis, TS
Fernandez, E
Gomez, B
Gonzalez-Lopez, P
Grima, MD
Lozano, AM
Normann, RA
Pena, S
Rodil, A
Roelfsema, PR
Rolston, JD
Soto-Sanchez, C
author_facet Fernandez, E
Alfaro, A
Soto-Sanchez, C
Gonzalez-Lopez, P
Lozano, AM
Pena, S
Grima, MD
Rodil, A
Gomez, B
Chen, X
Roelfsema, PR
Rolston, JD
Davis, TS
Normann, RA
author_role author
collection r-ISABIAL. Repositorio Institucional de Producción Científica del Instituto de Investigación Biomédica y Sanitaria de Alicante
description BACKGROUND. A long-held goal of vision therapy is to transfer information directly to the visual cortex of blind individuals, thereby restoring a rudimentary form of sight. However, no clinically available cortical visual prosthesis yet exists. METHODS. We implanted an intracortical microelectrode array consisting of 96 electrodes in the visual cortex of a 57-year-old person with complete blindness for a 6-month period. We measured thresholds and the characteristics of the visual percepts elicited by intracortical microstimulation. RESULTS. Implantation and subsequent explantation of intracortical microelectrodes were carried out without complications. The mean stimulation threshold for single electrodes was 66.8 +/- 36.5 IAA. We consistently obtained high-quality recordings from visually deprived neurons and the stimulation parameters remained stable over time. Simultaneous stimulation via multiple electrodes was associated with a significant reduction in thresholds (P < 0.001, ANOVA) and evoked discriminable phosphene percepts, allowing the blind participant to identify some letters and recognize object boundaries. CONCLUSIONS. Our results demonstrate the safety and efficacy of chronic intracortical microstimulation via a large number of electrodes in human visual cortex, showing its high potential for restoring functional vision in the blind. TRIAL REGISTRATION. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02983370.
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
format article
id ES_69f613a9c2a040ae3d471cce2d4ce6e5
institution Instituto de Investigación Biomédica y Sanitaria de Alicante (ISABIAL)
instname_str Instituto de Investigación Biomédica y Sanitaria de Alicante (ISABIAL)
network_acronym_str ES
network_name_str España
oai_identifier_str oai:isabial.fundanetsuite.com:p7566
publishDate 2021
publishDateSort 2021
publisher AMER SOC CLINICAL INVESTIGATION INC
publisherStr AMER SOC CLINICAL INVESTIGATION INC
reponame_str r-ISABIAL. Repositorio Institucional de Producción Científica del Instituto de Investigación Biomédica y Sanitaria de Alicante
spelling Visual percepts evoked with an intracortical 96-channel microelectrode array inserted in human occipital cortex Fernandez, E Alfaro, A Soto-Sanchez, C Gonzalez-Lopez, P Lozano, AM Pena, S Grima, MD Rodil, A Gomez, B Chen, X Roelfsema, PR Rolston, JD Davis, TS Normann, RA BACKGROUND. A long-held goal of vision therapy is to transfer information directly to the visual cortex of blind individuals, thereby restoring a rudimentary form of sight. However, no clinically available cortical visual prosthesis yet exists. METHODS. We implanted an intracortical microelectrode array consisting of 96 electrodes in the visual cortex of a 57-year-old person with complete blindness for a 6-month period. We measured thresholds and the characteristics of the visual percepts elicited by intracortical microstimulation. RESULTS. Implantation and subsequent explantation of intracortical microelectrodes were carried out without complications. The mean stimulation threshold for single electrodes was 66.8 +/- 36.5 IAA. We consistently obtained high-quality recordings from visually deprived neurons and the stimulation parameters remained stable over time. Simultaneous stimulation via multiple electrodes was associated with a significant reduction in thresholds (P < 0.001, ANOVA) and evoked discriminable phosphene percepts, allowing the blind participant to identify some letters and recognize object boundaries. CONCLUSIONS. Our results demonstrate the safety and efficacy of chronic intracortical microstimulation via a large number of electrodes in human visual cortex, showing its high potential for restoring functional vision in the blind. TRIAL REGISTRATION. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02983370. AMER SOC CLINICAL INVESTIGATION INC https://isabial.portalinvestigacion.com/publicaciones7566
spellingShingle Visual percepts evoked with an intracortical 96-channel microelectrode array inserted in human occipital cortex
Fernandez, E
status_str publishedVersion
title Visual percepts evoked with an intracortical 96-channel microelectrode array inserted in human occipital cortex
title_full Visual percepts evoked with an intracortical 96-channel microelectrode array inserted in human occipital cortex
title_fullStr Visual percepts evoked with an intracortical 96-channel microelectrode array inserted in human occipital cortex
title_full_unstemmed Visual percepts evoked with an intracortical 96-channel microelectrode array inserted in human occipital cortex
title_short Visual percepts evoked with an intracortical 96-channel microelectrode array inserted in human occipital cortex
title_sort Visual percepts evoked with an intracortical 96-channel microelectrode array inserted in human occipital cortex
url https://isabial.portalinvestigacion.com/publicaciones7566