This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Robotic system could help restore sight for people with AMD
A team of researchers at Moorfields Eye Hospital and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology have been awarded a £1.1 million grant from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to develop a robotic system to help replace damaged retinal cells in people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
New advances in regenerative and cellular therapies have meant that it might soon be possible to restore some sight for people with AMD.
Researchers have been able to grow new retinal cells that could be transplanted to replace the damaged cells in the eye. Delivery of these cells is currently performed using a handheld needle. The manipulation required for this is technically challenging and the success of the treatment would depend on the skills of the surgeon.
The funding grant awarded by the Invention for Innovation programme will be used to develop an innovative robotic system to overcome the current limitations of cell delivery.
The robot will steady motion and allow for accurate manipulation of delicate retinal tissue. The robotic technology will be coupled with advanced imaging techniques, like optical coherence tomography and angiography, that will give the surgeon better visualisation of the subretinal layers and vessels in the eye to deliver the new retinal cells with precision.
The collaborative project will have scientific, engineering and clinical input from Moorfields Eye Hospital, University College London (UCL) Institute of Engineering, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Wellcome EPSRC Centre for Interventional and Surgical Science (WEISS).
Lyndon da Cruz, consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital and clinical lead for the project, said: “Significant progress in cellular therapy has meant that we are one step closer to restoring sight and improving AMD patients’ quality of life. However, this huge clinical advancement cannot be realised without the engineering input needed to enable effective cellular delivery. Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential to this research’s success.”
Christos Bergeles, University College London Faculty of Engineering Science, said: “This project is a truly multidisciplinary effort. It is a pioneering new treatment and, with millions of AMD sufferers worldwide, it has a potentially vast patient impact. Advancing successful retinal cellular delivery to become a clinical reality would be a major milestone in the capabilities of ocular research.”
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