Memphis Business Journal - by Michael Sheffield
A collaboration between two professors at the University of Memphis and Southern College of Optometry could result in earlier detection of retinal diseases through a patent-pending testing process.
The Pseudo 2D Fractal Analysis was developed through a collaboration between Khan Iftekharuddin, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Memphis, and Pinakin Gunvant, assistant professor at Southern College of Optometry.
The process uses light beamed through the back of the retina to measure the thickness of retinal tissue at certain points. If the tissue is thick at the “12 and six o’clock” points, it is an indicator of glaucoma. The reflection of the light provides an indicator of the tissue’s thickness.
Gunvant says previous testing methods were accurate 85% of the time, but the 2D method has proven to be 98% accurate.
“That’s very clinically significant,” Gunvant says. “But you’re not inventing new devices. You’re just analyzing the data better.”
Gunvant and Iftekharuddin were doing separate research, with Gunvant focusing on retinal research at the Southern College and Iftekharuddin doing imaging work at the U of M. Gunvant said neither of the two had any idea the other existed until he looked Iftekharuddin up online. Ironically, the U of M professor was out of the country when Gunvant first contacted him.
“I found him through my good friend, Google, and he was right down the road,” Gunvant says. “If it wasn’t for technology, we might have never met.”
Iftekharuddin had used imaging to detect brain tumors through work with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, but hadn’t done any research with glaucoma. He says fractal imaging is able to pick up any irregularities in shapes or signals.
“We just took that and applied it to glaucoma and the results turned out to be excellent,” Iftekharuddin says. “Like any other disease, if you diagnose early you can treat it better.”
Once the two professors ensured the technique worked, the University of Memphis began the patent process, which can take up to three years. But it could also yield a viable product for the school to market and license, says Kevin Boggs, director of technology transfer and research development at the University of Memphis.
Boggs says the length of the patent process won’t prevent the two schools from marketing the product to companies that have a history of licensing patent applications.
“Once they’re familiar with the product, they’ll invest in it knowing the odds of getting a patent,” Boggs says. “There are a couple of options. We could either go with an exclusive or non-exclusive license, but we’d have to look at what would bring the product to the broadest possible market to help the most people.”
Gunvant says the technique could also detect other causes of blindness, like diabetes or macular degeneration. The immediate focus, however, is glaucoma, which is the second-leading cause of blindness in the world and the leading cause of blindness among African-Americans.
Gunvant says the new focus of the research will be trying to reach 100% accuracy.
“I doubt we’ll ever hit 100%, but most scientists get proven wrong in 15 years,” Gunvant says. “Glaucoma is very variable and affects different individuals in different ways. We’d have to do a very large scale study to get better than where we are at the moment.”
Gunvant says the technique probably would not have been perfected without the team effort.
“It’s hard to be an expert in every field, so multi-disciplined collaboration is required,” he says. “When you look at a problem from one angle, your brain gets fried, so you have to have someone else to come in and help you solve it.”
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
Monday, October 5, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Retinal implant could help the blind see
By Emma Woollacott
MIT researchers are working on a retinal implant that could help blind people regain a useful level of vision.
It's designed for sufferers of retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration, two of the leading causes of blindness. It won't restore normal vision, but could help blind people get around more easily.
Patients would wear a pair of glasses with a camera that sends images to a microchip attached to the eyeball. The glasses contain a coil that wirelessly transmits power to receiving coils surrounding the eyeball.
When the microchip receives visual information, it activates electrodes that stimulate nerve cells in the areas of the retina corresponding to the features of the visual scene. The electrodes directly activate optical nerves that carry signals to the brain, bypassing the damaged layers of retina.
In previous implants, the electrodes were attached directly to the retina from inside the eye, which carries more risk of damage. In the latest version, the implant is attached to the outside of the eye, and the electrodes are implanted behind the retina.
The team has been working on the implant for 20 years, and hopes to start testing it in blind patients within the next three years. The goal is to produce a chip that can be implanted for at least 10 years.
They've tried it out in Yucatan miniature pigs, which have roughly the same sized eyeballs as humans, purely to determine whether the implants remain functional and safe. So far, the prototypes have been successfully implanted in pigs for up to 10 months.
The researchers hope that once human trials begin and blind patients can offer feedback on what they're seeing, they will learn much more about how to configure the algorithm implemented by the chip to produce useful vision.
Patients have said that what they would like most is the ability to recognize faces. "If they can recognize faces of people in a room, that brings them into the social environment as opposed to sitting there waiting for someone to talk to them," says Shawn Kelly, a researcher in MIT's Research Laboratory for Electronics.
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
MIT researchers are working on a retinal implant that could help blind people regain a useful level of vision.
It's designed for sufferers of retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration, two of the leading causes of blindness. It won't restore normal vision, but could help blind people get around more easily.
Patients would wear a pair of glasses with a camera that sends images to a microchip attached to the eyeball. The glasses contain a coil that wirelessly transmits power to receiving coils surrounding the eyeball.
When the microchip receives visual information, it activates electrodes that stimulate nerve cells in the areas of the retina corresponding to the features of the visual scene. The electrodes directly activate optical nerves that carry signals to the brain, bypassing the damaged layers of retina.
In previous implants, the electrodes were attached directly to the retina from inside the eye, which carries more risk of damage. In the latest version, the implant is attached to the outside of the eye, and the electrodes are implanted behind the retina.
The team has been working on the implant for 20 years, and hopes to start testing it in blind patients within the next three years. The goal is to produce a chip that can be implanted for at least 10 years.
They've tried it out in Yucatan miniature pigs, which have roughly the same sized eyeballs as humans, purely to determine whether the implants remain functional and safe. So far, the prototypes have been successfully implanted in pigs for up to 10 months.
The researchers hope that once human trials begin and blind patients can offer feedback on what they're seeing, they will learn much more about how to configure the algorithm implemented by the chip to produce useful vision.
Patients have said that what they would like most is the ability to recognize faces. "If they can recognize faces of people in a room, that brings them into the social environment as opposed to sitting there waiting for someone to talk to them," says Shawn Kelly, a researcher in MIT's Research Laboratory for Electronics.
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
Friday, September 18, 2009
High-tech glasses help the nearly blind see
CBC News
An Ottawa company is developing computerized glasses that help people with severe visual impairments see — as well as zoom in on and replay what they saw with the press of a button.
The company, eSight Corp., received a $500,000 grant from the Ontario government this week to develop its evSpex product as part of a special $4.5 million fund to help 10 start-up companies bring products to market.
The device, which resembles a pair of large sunglasses, has a high-resolution camera on the outside and tiny LCD screens on the inside that project images to the wearer's eyes.
Before the image is projected, it's custom-processed by a tiny computer, said company president Rob Hilkes.
"So that when it's presented to a person who has diseased eyes … it's presented to the pieces of their vision that are most functional," he added.
Réjean Munger, a senior scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute who helped develop the glasses, said that can help people with a variety of diseases.
"We can take advantage of every bit of vision they have," he said.
The company hopes to start commercial production next year.
Sister of company chairman inspiration for glasses
Anne Lewis, who is legally blind as a result of Stargardt's disease, has been testing the prototype and is very excited about it.
"I see this product as a gift; I truly do," she said at the news conference announcing the funding.
Lewis is the sister of Conrad Lewis, eSight's chairman and one of the company's founders, and her disability was the inspiration for the glasses.
Stardgardt's disease is a form of macular degeneration that has destroyed Anne Lewis's sight except for her peripheral vision.
"It's like looking at a bubble and the inside of the bubble is black, the outside is clear," she said.
Lewis said using the glasses will allow her to read body language in meetings at work, stand on her deck and see flowers blooming, navigate shopping malls and flag down the right bus.
Unlike other products she has tried, it works even while she is moving.
The product is expected to be able to help people with age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and retinitis pigmentosa.
Users can record, zoom
Because the device is essentially recording a loop of video at all times, it will include special functions that people with normal vision don't have. For example, the user can save the last 10 seconds of what they saw at the press of a button so they can have another look at something that went by too quickly. The video can also be viewed later on a DVD player or computer. In addition, they could zoom in on certain things in their field of view.
Hilkes said the features are available because the "inherent guts" of the device are a computer.
"Once you pack a lot of electronics into a system like this, then creative people start to think of all kinds of ways that you could use it," he said.
In the future, the company hopes to market the technology to people with normal vision as wearable binoculars, night vision goggles or video gaming devices.
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
An Ottawa company is developing computerized glasses that help people with severe visual impairments see — as well as zoom in on and replay what they saw with the press of a button.
The company, eSight Corp., received a $500,000 grant from the Ontario government this week to develop its evSpex product as part of a special $4.5 million fund to help 10 start-up companies bring products to market.
The device, which resembles a pair of large sunglasses, has a high-resolution camera on the outside and tiny LCD screens on the inside that project images to the wearer's eyes.
Before the image is projected, it's custom-processed by a tiny computer, said company president Rob Hilkes.
"So that when it's presented to a person who has diseased eyes … it's presented to the pieces of their vision that are most functional," he added.
Réjean Munger, a senior scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute who helped develop the glasses, said that can help people with a variety of diseases.
"We can take advantage of every bit of vision they have," he said.
The company hopes to start commercial production next year.
Sister of company chairman inspiration for glasses
Anne Lewis, who is legally blind as a result of Stargardt's disease, has been testing the prototype and is very excited about it.
"I see this product as a gift; I truly do," she said at the news conference announcing the funding.
Lewis is the sister of Conrad Lewis, eSight's chairman and one of the company's founders, and her disability was the inspiration for the glasses.
Stardgardt's disease is a form of macular degeneration that has destroyed Anne Lewis's sight except for her peripheral vision.
"It's like looking at a bubble and the inside of the bubble is black, the outside is clear," she said.
Lewis said using the glasses will allow her to read body language in meetings at work, stand on her deck and see flowers blooming, navigate shopping malls and flag down the right bus.
Unlike other products she has tried, it works even while she is moving.
The product is expected to be able to help people with age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and retinitis pigmentosa.
Users can record, zoom
Because the device is essentially recording a loop of video at all times, it will include special functions that people with normal vision don't have. For example, the user can save the last 10 seconds of what they saw at the press of a button so they can have another look at something that went by too quickly. The video can also be viewed later on a DVD player or computer. In addition, they could zoom in on certain things in their field of view.
Hilkes said the features are available because the "inherent guts" of the device are a computer.
"Once you pack a lot of electronics into a system like this, then creative people start to think of all kinds of ways that you could use it," he said.
In the future, the company hopes to market the technology to people with normal vision as wearable binoculars, night vision goggles or video gaming devices.
For more information go to www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Increase Your Omega-3s
Within the polyunsaturated fat category, there are two important subclasses of fatty acids: omega-3s and omega-6s. Vegetable oils are rich in omega-6 fatty acids, and most Americans unknowingly get plenty of them in the diet. On the other hand, omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in fish and shellfish, tofu, flax, nuts and canola and soybean oils, are generally lacking in our diets.
Omega-3s appear to have a positive effect on heart rhythm and according to one recent study, may even reduce the incidence of the most common type of stroke. In fact, on the basis of the current research, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of a qualified health claim for dietary supplements of omega-3 fatty acids relating them to a reduced risk of heart disease.
Another intriguing area of research on omega-3 fatty acids pertains to their role in brain and visual function, as some research suggests they may have a role in preventing macular degeneration, a common form of blindness.
Continuing research involves the role of omega-3 fatty acids and the immune system, and suggests a positive influence on rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, lupus, kidney disease and cancer, as well as promising research at the National Institutes of Health on depression.
For more information go to: www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
Omega-3s appear to have a positive effect on heart rhythm and according to one recent study, may even reduce the incidence of the most common type of stroke. In fact, on the basis of the current research, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of a qualified health claim for dietary supplements of omega-3 fatty acids relating them to a reduced risk of heart disease.
Another intriguing area of research on omega-3 fatty acids pertains to their role in brain and visual function, as some research suggests they may have a role in preventing macular degeneration, a common form of blindness.
Continuing research involves the role of omega-3 fatty acids and the immune system, and suggests a positive influence on rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, lupus, kidney disease and cancer, as well as promising research at the National Institutes of Health on depression.
For more information go to: www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Palladium-103 plaque radiation therapy for macular degeneration: results of a 7 year study
Aim: To report 7 year results of ophthalmic plaque radiotherapy for exudative macular degeneration.
Methods: In a phase I clinical trial, 30 patients (31 eyes) were treated with ophthalmic plaque irradiation for subfoveal exudative macular degeneration. Radiation was delivered to a mean 2 mm from the inner sclera (range 1.2–2.4) prescription point calculated along the central axis of the plaque. The mean prescription dose was 17.62 Gy (range 12.5–24) delivered over 34 hours (range 18–65). Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) type standardised visual acuity determinations, ophthalmic examinations, and angiography were performed before and after treatment. Clinical evaluations were performed in a non-randomised and unmasked fashion.
Results: At 33.3 months (range 3–4), 17 of 31 (55%) eyes had lost 3 or more lines of vision on the ETDRS chart, five (16%) had improved 3 or more lines, and the remaining nine (29%) were within 2 lines of their pretreatment visual acuity measurement. Overall, 45% of patients were within or improved more than 2 lines of their initial visual acuity. Five eyes developed macular scars, eight developed subsequent neovascularisation or haemorrhage, and three progressed through therapy. Two patients were lost to follow up. The most common finding of patients followed for 6 or more months (n = 18 of 29 (62%)) was regression or stabilisation of the exudative process. No radiation retinopathy, optic neuropathy, or cataracts could be attributed to irradiation.
Conclusion: Ophthalmic plaque radiation can be used to treat exudative macular degeneration. At the dose and dose rates employed, most patients experienced decreased exudation or stabilisation of their maculas. No sight limiting radiation complications were noted during 7 year follow up. Owing to the variable natural course of this disease, a prospective randomised clinical trial should be performed to evaluate the efficacy of plaque radiation therapy for exudative macular degeneration.
Methods: In a phase I clinical trial, 30 patients (31 eyes) were treated with ophthalmic plaque irradiation for subfoveal exudative macular degeneration. Radiation was delivered to a mean 2 mm from the inner sclera (range 1.2–2.4) prescription point calculated along the central axis of the plaque. The mean prescription dose was 17.62 Gy (range 12.5–24) delivered over 34 hours (range 18–65). Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) type standardised visual acuity determinations, ophthalmic examinations, and angiography were performed before and after treatment. Clinical evaluations were performed in a non-randomised and unmasked fashion.
Results: At 33.3 months (range 3–4), 17 of 31 (55%) eyes had lost 3 or more lines of vision on the ETDRS chart, five (16%) had improved 3 or more lines, and the remaining nine (29%) were within 2 lines of their pretreatment visual acuity measurement. Overall, 45% of patients were within or improved more than 2 lines of their initial visual acuity. Five eyes developed macular scars, eight developed subsequent neovascularisation or haemorrhage, and three progressed through therapy. Two patients were lost to follow up. The most common finding of patients followed for 6 or more months (n = 18 of 29 (62%)) was regression or stabilisation of the exudative process. No radiation retinopathy, optic neuropathy, or cataracts could be attributed to irradiation.
Conclusion: Ophthalmic plaque radiation can be used to treat exudative macular degeneration. At the dose and dose rates employed, most patients experienced decreased exudation or stabilisation of their maculas. No sight limiting radiation complications were noted during 7 year follow up. Owing to the variable natural course of this disease, a prospective randomised clinical trial should be performed to evaluate the efficacy of plaque radiation therapy for exudative macular degeneration.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Researchers Grow Eye Cells From Skin Cells
Researchers have succeeded in growing light-sensing eye cells from human skin cells, opening the possibility of restoring sight to patients blinded by certain diseases.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have grown retinal cells from skin cells, a development that could be used to treat degenerative eye diseases.
A number of genetic disorders involve the degeneration of the retina, the light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye. The disorders cause the cells to die, and vision is gradually lost, resulting in blindness.
The researchers manipulated human skin cells to act like embryonic stem cells, which can be coaxed to grow into any tissue in the body. The development suggests that doctors may someday be able to repair damage to the retina with new cells generated from the patient's own skin.
Lead researcher David Gamm, a professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Wisconsin, says his research could benefit people with macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. In both diseases, the visual field gradually narrows, eventually leading to blindness.
"In particular these diseases are quite devastating to the patients who are affected by them," he said. "They rob them of their vision either when they are younger in the case of retinitis pigmentosa or when they are older in the case when they are older in the case of macular degeneration. And there are no cures and very few if any treatments for them. So it is a big need, especially from the macular degeneration standpoint, as the population ages."
An estimated one million people worldwide are affected by macular degeneration alone.
Gamm says the laboratory process of creating human retinal cells helps researchers better understand how eyes develop, so diseases that lead to vision loss may someday be treated or even cured with retinal stem cells.
The development could also further research on genetic eye conditions. For example, using skin cells from a patient with retinitis pigmintosa researchers could create retinal cells with the defective gene and subject them to various potential drugs for treating or curing the condition.
Gamm says the same technique could help scientists find treatments for other genetic diseases, not just eye disorders.
"Now we could take theoretically any human disease, especially those that have specific gene defects underlying them, and produce cell types of interest in those diseases and test them directly for the efficacy of various drugs or how in fact those cells die in disease," he added.
The study on the development of eye cells is published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
By Jessica Berman
Washington
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have grown retinal cells from skin cells, a development that could be used to treat degenerative eye diseases.
A number of genetic disorders involve the degeneration of the retina, the light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye. The disorders cause the cells to die, and vision is gradually lost, resulting in blindness.
The researchers manipulated human skin cells to act like embryonic stem cells, which can be coaxed to grow into any tissue in the body. The development suggests that doctors may someday be able to repair damage to the retina with new cells generated from the patient's own skin.
Lead researcher David Gamm, a professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Wisconsin, says his research could benefit people with macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. In both diseases, the visual field gradually narrows, eventually leading to blindness.
"In particular these diseases are quite devastating to the patients who are affected by them," he said. "They rob them of their vision either when they are younger in the case of retinitis pigmentosa or when they are older in the case when they are older in the case of macular degeneration. And there are no cures and very few if any treatments for them. So it is a big need, especially from the macular degeneration standpoint, as the population ages."
An estimated one million people worldwide are affected by macular degeneration alone.
Gamm says the laboratory process of creating human retinal cells helps researchers better understand how eyes develop, so diseases that lead to vision loss may someday be treated or even cured with retinal stem cells.
The development could also further research on genetic eye conditions. For example, using skin cells from a patient with retinitis pigmintosa researchers could create retinal cells with the defective gene and subject them to various potential drugs for treating or curing the condition.
Gamm says the same technique could help scientists find treatments for other genetic diseases, not just eye disorders.
"Now we could take theoretically any human disease, especially those that have specific gene defects underlying them, and produce cell types of interest in those diseases and test them directly for the efficacy of various drugs or how in fact those cells die in disease," he added.
The study on the development of eye cells is published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
By Jessica Berman
Washington
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
An Overview of Macular Degeneration Research
Doctors and scientists are currently conducting macular degeneration research. Macular degeneration research studies are designed to answer important questions and to find out whether new approaches are safe and effective. This research already has led to many advances, and researchers continue to search for more effective methods for dealing with macular degeneration.
Current Areas of Focus in Macular Degeneration Research
A number of macular degeneration research studies are being conducted to learn what causes macular degeneration and how it can be better treated.
One macular degeneration research study is also evaluating the effects of certain vitamins and minerals in preventing or slowing the progress of the disease.
At the same time, scientists studying macular degeneration are trying to learn more about how the cells in the retina work. This knowledge will allow them one day to pinpoint the causes of macular degeneration and come up with ways to prevent it.
Other areas of current research include:
* Studying the possibility of transplanting healthy cells into a diseased retina
* Evaluating families with a history of macular degeneration to understand genetic and hereditary factors that may cause the disease
* Looking at certain anti-inflammatory treatments for the wet form of macular degeneration.
This macular degeneration research should provide better ways to detect, treat, and prevent vision loss in people with the disease.
for more information www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
Current Areas of Focus in Macular Degeneration Research
A number of macular degeneration research studies are being conducted to learn what causes macular degeneration and how it can be better treated.
One macular degeneration research study is also evaluating the effects of certain vitamins and minerals in preventing or slowing the progress of the disease.
At the same time, scientists studying macular degeneration are trying to learn more about how the cells in the retina work. This knowledge will allow them one day to pinpoint the causes of macular degeneration and come up with ways to prevent it.
Other areas of current research include:
* Studying the possibility of transplanting healthy cells into a diseased retina
* Evaluating families with a history of macular degeneration to understand genetic and hereditary factors that may cause the disease
* Looking at certain anti-inflammatory treatments for the wet form of macular degeneration.
This macular degeneration research should provide better ways to detect, treat, and prevent vision loss in people with the disease.
for more information www.maculardegenerationassociation.org
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