Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26540657›Full record

ArticleInvestigative ophthalmology & visual science2015

Contrast Sensitivity With a Subretinal Prosthesis and Implications for Efficient Delivery of Visual Information.

Georges Goetz, Richard Smith, Xin Lei, Ludwig Galambos, Theodore Kamins, Keith Mathieson, Alexander Sher, Daniel Palanker

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 24 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Inhibitory Circuits Can Restore OFF Pathway Responses in Retinal Prostheses.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026
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  8. Electronic approaches to restoration of sight.Reports on progress in physics. Physical Society (Great Britain) · 2016
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Georges GoetzHansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States 2Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States.
Richard SmithSanta Cruz Institute for Particle Physics, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, United States.
Xin LeiDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States.
Ludwig GalambosDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States.
Theodore KaminsDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States.
Keith MathiesonInstitute of Photonics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Alexander SherSanta Cruz Institute for Particle Physics, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, United States.
Daniel PalankerHansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States 5Department of Ophthalmology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States.
Stanford University · USUniversity of California, Santa Cruz · USUniversity of Strathclyde · GB

Funding

High Resolution Photovoltaic Retinal ProsthesisR01EY018608 · NEI · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI PALANKER, DANIEL V · 2009 to 2016
$9.2M
NEI NIH HHS R01 EY018608NEI NIH HHS R01-EY-018608
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo evaluate the contrast sensitivity of a degenerate retina stimulated by a photovoltaic subretinal prosthesis, and assess the impact of low contrast sensitivity on transmission of visual information.

methodsWe measure ex vivo the full-field contrast sensitivity of healthy rat retina stimulated with white light, and the contrast sensitivity of degenerate rat retina stimulated with a subretinal prosthesis at frequencies exceeding flicker fusion (>20 Hz). Effects of eye movements on retinal ganglion cell (RGC) activity are simulated using a linear-nonlinear model of the retina.

resultsRetinal ganglion cells adapt to high frequency stimulation of constant intensity, and respond transiently to changes in illumination of the implant, exhibiting responses to ON-sets, OFF-sets, and both ON- and OFF-sets of light. The percentage of cells with an OFF response decreases with progression of the degeneration, indicating that OFF responses are likely mediated by photoreceptors. Prosthetic vision exhibits reduced contrast sensitivity and dynamic range, with 65% contrast changes required to elicit responses, as compared to the 3% (OFF) to 7% (ON) changes with visible light. The maximum number of action potentials elicited with prosthetic stimulation is at most half of its natural counterpart for the ON pathway. Our model predicts that for most visual scenes, contrast sensitivity of prosthetic vision is insufficient for triggering RGC activity by fixational eye movements.

conclusionsContrast sensitivity of prosthetic vision is 10 times lower than normal, and dynamic range is two times below natural. Low contrast sensitivity and lack of OFF responses hamper delivery of visual information via a subretinal prosthesis.

Indexed as

Visual ProsthesisAnimalsContrast SensitivityDisease Models, AnimalEvoked Potentials, VisualFemalePhotic StimulationRatsRats, Long-EvansRetinal DegenerationRetinal Ganglion CellsVisual Acuity

Identifiers

PMID26540657
PMCPMC4640473
OpenAlexW2396719182

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.