‘Who is the ideal candidate?’: decisions and issues relating to visual neuroprosthesis development, patient testing and neuroplasticity.
Abstract
Appropriate delivery of electrical stimulation to intact visual structures can evoke patterned sensations of light in individuals who have been blind for many years. This pivotal finding has lent credibility to the concept of restoring functional vision by artificial means. As numerous groups worldwide pursue human clinical testing with visual prosthetic devices, it is becoming increasingly clear that there remains a considerable gap between the challenges of prosthetic device development and the rehabilitative strategies needed to implement this new technology in patients. An important area of future work will be the development of appropriate pre- and post-implantation measures of performance and establishing candidate selection criteria in order to quantify technical advances, guide future device design and optimize therapeutic success. We propose that the selection of an 'ideal' candidate should also be considered within the context of the variable neuroplastic changes that follow vision loss. Specifically, an understanding of the adaptive and compensatory changes that occur within the brain could assist in guiding the development of post-implantation rehabilitative strategies and optimize behavioral outcomes.
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The perception experience could be different in a brain deprived of visual information.
“could also be different in a brain deprived of visual information (Merabet et al., 2007; Fernandez, 2018)”
From Toward a personalized closed-loop stimulation of the visual cortex: Advances and challenges (2022) · cites this paper as Merabet et al., 2007
The success of visual prostheses strongly depends on understanding the adaptive and compensatory changes occurring within the brain and the role of perceptual learning.
“The success of visual prostheses strongly depends on our understanding of the adaptive and compensatory changes occurring within the brain [220] and the role of perceptual learning.”
From Advances in visual prostheses: engineering and biological challenges (2022) · cites this paper as [220]
It is still unclear how to identify the ideal candidates for a cortical prosthesis.
“Moreover, it is still unclear how to identify the ideal candidates for a cortical prosthesis (Merabet et al., 2007).”
From Toward Long-Term Communication With the Brain in the Blind by Intracortical Stimulation: Challenges and Future Prospects (2020) · cites this paper as Merabet et al., 2007
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- Authors
- Merabet, L. B., Rizzo, J. F., Pascual-Leone, A., & Fernandez, E.
- Affiliations
- Universitat de Miguel Hernández d'Elx (ES)
- Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (US)
- ORCID
- Merabet, Lotfi B
- Venue
- Journal of Neural Engineering
- Publisher
- IOP Publishing
- Published
- 2007-02-26
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- S130-S135
- ISSN
- 1741-2552 (ISSN-L)
- 1741-2560
- OpenAlex
- W2042591526
- Cited by
- 35
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 3 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 1.19
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Neural Engineering (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neural Engineering
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Tactile and Sensory Interactions
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces
- Keywords
- retinal prosthesis, blind patients, candidate selection, neuroplasticity, vision loss, vision restoration, performance indicators
- MeSH terms
- Clinical Trials as Topic, Decision Making, Humans, Neuronal Plasticity, Prognosis, Prosthesis Design, United States, Vision Disorders, Treatment Outcome, Patient Selection, Equipment Failure Analysis, Prostheses and Implants
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