This project aims to reverse blindness by direct neural stimulation in the visual pathway, providing naturalistic stereoscopic foveal visual input—to a blind patient. We will develop the necessary groundbreaking technologies to build an integrated optical neuroprosthetic implant that will produce perception at the visual system’s highest level of perceptual hyperacuity.

We call this device the OBServe implant—Optogenetic Brain System. We will develop these technologies and devices in awake monkeys, following the necessary preclinical steps to achieve FDA IDE approval—with subsequent implantation of the FIH device into human patients.

The target patient population for this device will be those with irreparable damage to the ocular anterior segment, retinal ganglion cells, or optic nerves (all of which preclude treatment with retinal implants or any other known sight restoration treatment).

The specific patient base that we will target initially will include DoD personnel with Traumatic Ocular Injury (a disease currently studied by the PI with current DoD CDMRP funding), macular degeneration, glaucoma, and surgically intractable ocular anterior segment damage.