The approach is far less invasive than surgery, Nie said. “An intravitreal injection is one of the simplest procedures in ophthalmology,” she said.
Nie, a postdoctoral researcher at the National Institutes of Health, led the research while completing her doctorate at Brown University under the guidance of Professor Jonghwan Lee, with contributions from a highly interdisciplinary team of engineers, neuroscientists, and ophthalmologists. It is unclear whether federal funding cuts could affect their research.
The Globe spoke to Nie about the new procedure, how it works, and when it could move beyond animal trials.
Advertisement
Q: Can you provide an overview of the study and how gold nanoparticles are being used to restore vision?
Nie: This research is about less–invasive retinal prosthesis. We use gold nanorods and patterned near-infrared laser. We intravitreally injected the gold nanorods into the eye and then when they attach to the retina, we project with a patterned near-infrared laser to stimulate [them and] induce localized heat to activate the remaining neurons in the retina, to bypass the degenerated cells in the retina so that it could restore vision. In our preclinical mouse models, we observed restored visual responses, suggesting this approach may offer a minimally invasive alternative for treating vision loss.
Advertisement
What inspired researchers to use gold nanoparticles?
It has been demonstrated that the gold nanorods and the patterned near-infrared laser can stimulate neurons in other parts of the nervous system, such as the brain or sciatic nerves. Around 2016, we began exploring whether this approach could be applied to the retina for vision restoration.
How is this method less invasive?
Existing retinal prosthesis, such as electrode arrays, typically require invasive surgery to implant hardware into or near the retina. These procedures are complex, expensive, and carry risks over time, including device failure or the need for removal. Optogenetics, which involves genetic modification to make retinal neurons light sensitive [is] promising, [but] it raises additional safety, ethical, and regulatory questions, especially regarding long-term gene expression. Our approach … avoids the need for surgery or genetic modification, making it potentially safe and more accessible.
What would the quality of vision be after the procedure?
We are still working on that. Ideally, we aim to increase resolution of the restored vision and we would like to increase the visual quality to let individuals recognize faces and read text, for example. But we need to do a lot of work to test it in the animal models to see how clear the images will be.
Is this approach only for certain types of retinal disorder?
Currently, we focus on photoreceptor degenerations like retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration. But I heard from other ophthalmologists that it could also be applied to other diseases such as diabetic retinopathy or could be adapted to create visual prosthesis for individuals who have lost their sight due to other cases, like trauma and stroke. More studies will be needed to evaluate that possibility.
Advertisement
Are there any side effects?
We are still working on that. In this study we already proved it will not induce systematic toxicity significantly in the mouse model a few months after injection. We also repeated the laser stimulations and did not observe significant retinal damage. We need to investigate in larger animal models to further confirm the safety and the efficacy before moving toward human trials.
When might you have human clinical trials?
There’s still a long way to go because currently it is still in early stages, and we are still working on animal models. A number of components still need optimization, including the gold nanorods laser projection system, design of the goggles, and how to enhance the quality of the restored vision. Only after thorough safety and efficacy validation in larger animal models would we consider moving toward human trials. That process could still take several years.
Would this be for people with degenerating vision or no vision at all?
It would depend on the stage of vision loss and the specific disease. Our approach is designed to work when the photoreceptors are gone, but the inner retinal layers … are still functional. What stages of diseases can benefit from this approach? That still needs to be vigorously evaluated in future studies.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Boston Globe’s weekly Ocean State Innovators column features a Q&A with Rhode Island innovators who are starting new businesses and nonprofits, conducting groundbreaking research, and reshaping the state’s economy. Send tips and suggestions to reporter Alexa Gagosz at alexa.gagosz@globe.com.
Advertisement
Carlos Muñoz can be reached at carlos.munoz@globe.com. Follow him @ReadCarlos and on Instagram @Carlosbrknews.