{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"The Possibilities of Vision Restoration","description":"This podcast is about big ideas on how technology is making life better for people with vision loss. For hundreds of years, health professionals have dreamed of restoring vision for people who are blind or visually impaired. However, doing so, either through transplanting a functioning eye or using technological aids, is an incredibly complex challenge. In fact, many considered it impossible. But thanks to cutting-edge research and programs, the ability to restore vision is getting closer than ever. As a first for this podcast, this episode features an interview with Dr. Cal Roberts himself! Adapting audio from an interview on The Doctors Podcast, Dr. Cal describes his work as a program manager for a project on eye transplantation called Transplantation of Human Eye Allographs (THEA). Funded by a government initiative called ARPA-H, THEA is bringing some of the country\u2019s finest minds together to tackle the complexities of connecting a person\u2019s brain to an eye from a human donor. This episode also features an interview with Dr. Daniel Palanker of Stanford University. Dr. Palanker is working on technology that can artificially restore sight through prosthetic replacement of photoreceptors. Having proved successful in animals, Dr. Palanker and his team are working hard to translate it to humans. And if that can happen, then something once considered impossible could finally be accomplished!   The Big Takeaways The Challenges of Eye Transplants: Although eyeball transplants have been done, they\u2019ve only been cosmetic. So far, nobody has been able to successfully connect a donor eyeball to a recipient\u2019s brain. Dr. Roberts\u2019s work with THEA is bringing together multiple teams to tackle the challenges associated with a whole eyeball transplant, from connecting nerves and muscles to ensuring the organ isn\u2019t rejected, and much more. \u201cArtificial\u201d Vision Restoration: Dr. Palanker is working to replace the functions of photoreceptors through technological means. His photovoltaic array is placed underneath the retina and can convert light into an electrical current that activates the cells that send visual information to the brain. While it doesn\u2019t completely restore sight for people with Age-Related Macular Degeneration, this technology shows incredible promise. Decoding \u201cBrain Language\u201d: For both Dr. Roberts and Dr. Palanker, one of the biggest challenges with vision restoration is understanding how the eye and brain communicate. Dr. Roberts likens it to Morse Code \u2014 the eye speaks to the brain in \u201cdots and dashes,\u201d which the brain then converts into vision. Right now, the language is still foreign to us, but we\u2019re closer than ever to decoding it. The Evolution of the Brain-Machine Interface: Dr. Palanker imagines incredible possibilities in the interaction between the brain and technology. If we can find a way to truly translate the brain\u2019s signals into information, Dr. Palanker envisions the possibility of direct brain-to-brain communication without verbalization. In a way, this could make people telepathic, able to understand and digest vast amounts of information in an instant.   Tweetables: So ideally in medicine, at least the ideal therapy is the restoration of full functionality. If we can grow back photoreceptors and make them reconnect to bipolar cells, undo all the rewiring that right now underwent during degeneration, and restore the full extent of vision, that would be the ideal outcome. \u2014 Dr. Daniel Palanker, Professor of Ophthalmology, Stanford University We can think about other aspects of brain-machine interface, which takes you maybe into the realm of capabilities that humans never had. If you enable artificial senses or enable brain-to-brain connectivity so you can communicate without verbalization that would open completely new capabilities that humanity never had. \u2014 Dr. Palanker Forty-two years after the implantation of the first mechanical heart, there\u2019s not a single person in the world walking around with a mechanical heart. All that work, all that research, and all that effort to come up with mechanical heart transplants are still state-of-the-art. And so, while I believe that there is a role for a bionic eye or mechanical eye, what I really believe is that everything that we learn from doing an eye transplant will just make it better and easier when we do eventually come up with a bionic or a mechanical eye. \u2014 Dr. Calvin Roberts, ARPA-H Health Science Futures Program Manager (President and CEO of Lighthouse Guild and Host of On Tech & Vision!)   Contact Us: Contact us at podcasts@lighthouseguild.org with your innovative new technology ideas for people with vision loss.   Pertinent Links Lighthouse Guild THEA Program Prima System   People\u2019s Choice Podcast Awards We appreciate your support for our show \u2014 and now, we need your help nominating the On Tech & Vision podcast for the People\u2019s Choice Podcast Awards! We are participating in these awards so we can showcase On Tech & Vision to a broader audience, gain recognition within the industry, and, most importantly, help spread the message about Lighthouse Guild and the role that technology is playing in tearing down barriers for people who are blind or visually impaired. To help us nominate On Tech & Vision, please go online to www.podcastawards.com, where you can register to vote for On Tech & Vision in both the Technology and Peoples\u2019 Choice Categories. Voting is open until July 31st. Once again, your support is greatly appreciated! ","author_name":"On Tech & Vision With Dr. Cal Roberts","author_url":"http:\/\/www.lighthouseguild.org","html":"