Design and technical challenge of retinal prosthesis

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a kind of hereditary disease characterized by progressive photoreceptor and pigmented epithelial cell dysfunction.It is also a common cause of blindness worldwide.In recent years, gene therapy, neurotrophic therapy, stem cell therapy and other methods for RP have developed rapidly.Among them, implantation of retinal prosthesis has been used to restore vision of patients with RP and age-related macular degeneration, and has become an international research hotspot.The development of retinal prostheses has undergone a long-term research and experimental process.Currently, retinal prostheses are mainly divided into three categories according to different implantation locations, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages.After implantation, the visual experience obtained by the patient is completely different from before vision loss.Whether the patient can effectively use the re-acquired artificial vision depends largely on the post-operative rehabilitation training process.Although the retinal prosthesis can provide the blindness with the hope of regaining vision, it still faces various challenges.This article will summarize the development history, classification, postoperative rehabilitation and technical challenges of retinal prostheses, and hope to provide reference for its clinical application.