BioAdhere
Exploratory Research Space Seed Fund: Tailor-made bioadhesives for epiretinal visual prostheses
Degenerative retinal diseases, i.e. Retinitis pigmentosa, lead to a loss of visual function over time. To this day, no healing therapy has been introduced. Retinal stimulation is a promising technology to restore a meaningful visual field and thereby to improve the implanted individual’s navigation in daily life tasks. Fixation of retinal stimulation arrays is performed using retinal tacks, risking significant retinal trauma and intravitreal bleeding.
The aim of the BioAdhere project is to demonstrate the proof-of-concept for a “tack-free” fixation of functional arrays for retinal stimulation by tailor-made bioadhesive peptides. The applicants are convinced that in case of success tailor-made bioadhesives will find applications beyond epiretinal adhesion in the field of ocular surgery such as micro-invasive glaucoma surgeries, larger implants for glaucoma treatment or intravitreal drug deposits.