Category Archives: Retinitis Pigmentosa

Retinitis Pigmentosa animation By: Sergey K … Continue reading →

Second Sight's CEO Discusses Restoring Vision Through the Artificial Retina Second Sight's CEO, Robert Greenberg, discusses how Argus II is restoring vision to patients of Retinitis Pigmentosa. By: Pascale Communications … Continue reading →

Posted by Dennis Douda (@ddouda) 2 day(s) ago "Bionic" Eye Implant Offers Hope of Restoring Vision Its a medical story, a science and technology advancement and a romance wrapped into one moment: when a man who is blind sees his wife again for the first time in a decade. Allen Zderad began to have serious vision problems about 20 years ago due to retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease affecting the retina. There is no effective treatment or cure. It ended his professional career and after a decade he was effectively blind, unable to see anything other than very bright light. He adjusted, even continuing woodworking by developing his sense of touch and spatial relationships. But he was unable to see his family, including ten grandchildren or his wife, Carmen. Enter Raymond Iezzi Jr., M.D., Mayo Clinic researcher and ophthalmologist, who had been seeing Zderads grandson, who has early stages of the same condition. Journalists: B-roll of patient Allen Zderad's first experiences with the Second Sight system and of his surgery to implant the device is available in the downloads. Dr. Iezzi's sound bites on the technology, retinitis pigmentosa and the patient experience are also available. Click herefor transcript. Watch … Continue reading →

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com @BednarChuck A new bionic eye implant has made it possible for a 68-year-old Minnesota native suffering from a degenerative eye condition to see his wife for the first time in more than a decade. Go ahead, try to keep a dry eye. Retinitis pigmentosa According to Mashable, Allen Zderad was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa nearly 20 years ago, and since then he had lost nearly all of his eyesight to the disease, which causes damage to the tissue at the back of the inner eye that converts light images to nerve signals. There is no cure or effective treatment for retinitis pigmentosa, but thanks to a clinical trial of a new device built by Second Sight, Zderad has regained the ability to see shapes, make out human forms and even see his own reflection in a window, the website added in its report. [STORY: DARPA implant could give people Terminator-like vision] Its crude, but its significant. It works, he said after seeing his wife for the first time following the implant, which the Mayo Clinic described as a tiny wafer-like chip that was embedded in his right eye and sends light wave signals to the optic … Continue reading →

Allen Zderad was recently able to see his wife of 45 years for the first time in a decade. The Minnesota man seemed to burst into simultaneous laughter and tears as he caught a glimpse of her with his new "bionic eye." Zderad, who is 68, has retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease that began to progress at a rapid pace 20 years ago. The disease causes deterioration of the part of the retina that turns light into vision, and eventually leads to total blindness. Now with the help of a recently developed medical device, Zderad's vision of the world has changed. He's one of just a handful of people in the world to get the "bionic eye" device known as Second Sight Argus II retinal prosthesis system. Zderad's was implanted by Dr. Raymond Iezzi of the Mayo Clinic. "It's pulsing light, it's not like regular vision where it's constant," Zderad told his wife and the Mayo Clinic medical team. "It's the flash, and I've got to be able to interpret the changes in that shape." The Second Sight Argus II doesn't completely restore vision, but with specially-equipped glasses the patient can see light, and therefore the contours and silhouettes … Continue reading →

By Brian Koerber2015-02-23 16:42:58 UTC Allen Zderad is finally able to see his wife for the first time in more than a decade. Nearly 20 years ago, the 68-year-old Minnesotan's vision began deteriorating. He was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa, a condition that currently has no effective treatment or cure, according to the Mayo Clinic. After 10 years, he had lost nearly all eyesight. However, a clinical trial using a system called Second Sight has given Zderad the ability to see shapes, make out human forms and even see his own reflection in a window. The video above shows the device working for the first time, as Zderad reaches out for his wife. "It's crude, but it's significant," Zderad said in the video. "It'll work." Zderad was the first ideal patient for the clinical trial, which the Mayo Clinic describes as a "bionic eye implant that sends light wave signals to the optic nerve, bypassing the damaged retina. A tiny wafer-like chip was embedded in his right eye, wires attached in a surgical procedure in January, then two weeks later, the rest of the prosthetic device set in glasses was activated." "It's a bionic eye in … Continue reading →

February 23, 2015 2:34 PM CBS SF Bay (con't) Affordable Care Act Updates: CBSSanFrancisco.com/ACA Health News & Information: CBSSanFrancisco.com/Health (CBS SF) A Minnesota grandfather burst into laughter after seeing his wife for the first time in a decade last week with help from a bionic eye implant. Allen Zderad, 68, suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative disease that often causes blindness. He hasnt even some of his ten grandchildren in the last 10 years, according to a statement from Mayo Clinic. The former 3M employee turned out to be the ideal patient for the first clinical trial at Mayo Clinicinvolving a bionic eye implant that works by sending light wave signals to the optic nerve, bypassing the damaged retina all together. Hes now just a handful of people in the world to get the eye implant known as Second Sight II retinal prosthesis system. VIDEO: Read more from CBS News. Link: Video: Blind Man Sees Wife Again For First Time In 10 Years With Bionic Eyes … Continue reading →

A 68-year-old Minnesota man was able to see his wife for the first time in a decade last week after becoming the fifteenth person in the country to receive a "bionic eye" implant. Allen Zderad's career as a chemist ended 20 years ago when his sight began to fail as a result of a degenerative eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa, according to a statement from the Mayo Clinic. Raymond Iezzi Jr., a Mayo Clinic researcher and ophthalmologist, was researching the "Second Sight Argus II" retinal prosthesis system when he encountered Zderad and decided the grandfather of ten would be a good candidate for an implant. Iezzi installed 60 electrodes in Zderad's eye, which interact with a camera in Zderad's glasses and a wearable computer pack to send information to the electrodes implanted in his retina, which then sends signals straight to the optic nerve, Iezzi explained to NBC affiliate KARE. "This is great for this family. It's also very unusual for a scientist like me to be able to actually apply outcomes of what we've worked on for years to help a patient. That's very special," Iezzi said, according to a statement from the Mayo Clinic. Zderad still can't see … Continue reading →

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ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) -- Only fifteen people in the country have received a bionic eye, but you can count one blind man from Forest Lake as another on the list. It has been years since Allen Zderad has been able to see anyone in his family, even his grandson who suffers from the same retinal condition, but now he is seeing life in a whole new way. "You could see that there was a bright outline, and he could see the outline of his wife's head, and it was the first moment that he could have some perception of his wife's appearance," says Dr. Raymond Iezzi who performed the operation on Zderad. He has been suffering from retinal degeneration his whole life, a particular type so severe that it is only seen in 1 of 4,000 people. "With Retinitis pigmentosa patients lose the pixels in the retina, and in only a subset of patients, maybe 8% or 10% of patients with advanced Retinitis pigmentosa they go on to lose their central sight," explains Dr. Iezzi. Enter Dr. Iezziand his team at Mayo Clinic, who have given Zderad a bionic eye, the first Minnesotan to receive one. "Well in many ways … Continue reading →