The National Institutes of Health have awarded $2.5 million to Illinois Institute of Technology researchers for the first year of a three-year project, to begin clinical trials of their wireless visual prosthesis system, which aims to provide some limited vision to people with profound blindness.
 
The Intracortical Visual Prosthesis (ICVP) System is designed to bypass the retina and optic nerves by connecting directly to the visual cortex of the brain. It uses a group of fully implanted, miniaturized, wireless stimulators to help individuals with no sight to visualize rendered images in real time.
 
The implant system was developed by a multi-institutional team led by Philip R. Troyk, executive director of Illinois Tech’s Pritzker Institute of Biomedical Science and Engineering, professor of biomedical engineering, and affiliated professor in Stuart School of Business. It is the culmination of nearly three decades of Illinois Tech research dedicated to ultimately providing artificial sight to those with blindness due to eye disease or trauma.
 
“This is an incredibly exciting moment, not just for the field of biomedical science, but more importantly, for people with blindness and their loved ones around the world,” said Troyk. “This technology, developed right here at Chicago’s only tech-focused university, could have an incredible impact on the lives of individuals with visual impairment around the globe, and I thank our research and clinical partners for their commitment to helping improve the lives of those who have lost their vision.”
 
Troyk and his research partners were awarded funding as part of the NIH’s The Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative to begin the clinical trial process on September 1. Implant surgeries are scheduled to take place at Rush University Medical Center early in 2021. In addition, Illinois Tech will partner with The Chicago Lighthouse; Johns Hopkins University; the University of Texas at Dallas; Sigenics, Inc.; Microprobes for Life Science, Inc.; and the University of Chicago on the initiative, with Troyk serving as the principal investigator.
 
“Phil and his team at Illinois Tech have helped shape the entire field of visual implant research from right here on the South Side of Chicago,” commented Alan W. Cramb, president of Illinois Tech. “From the inventor of the cell phone to one of the people behind Amazon Alexa, Illinois Tech’s faculty and alumni have been at the forefront of many of our era’s most notable scientific and technological developments, and this work continues that important legacy.”