Visual Prostheses: Technological and Socioeconomic Challenges

ABSTRACTVisual prostheses are now entering the clinical marketplace. Such prostheses were originally targeted for patients suffering from blindness through retinitis pigmentosa (RP). However, in late July of this year, for the first time a patient was given a retinal implant in order to treat dry age-related macular degeneration. Retinal implants are suitable solutions for diseases that attack photoreceptors but spare most of the remaining retinal neurons. For eye diseases that result in loss of retinal output, implants that interface with more central structures in the visual system are needed. The standard site for central visual prostheses under development is the visual cortex. This perspective discusses the technical and socioeconomic challenges faced by visual prostheses.