# Functional analysis of an LGN-based visual prosthesis

> **NIH VA I01** · VA BOSTON HEALTH CARE SYSTEM · 2024 · —

## Abstract

We are developing a visual prosthesis that can restore vision to the blind. Finding a treatment for blindness is
significant as it is projected to impact 1 in 28 individuals over the age of 45 by the year 2030 (~3.5% of the
population), including over 100,000 Veterans. Further, blindness is associated with increased levels of
depression, obesity, diabetes, and accidental falls, and estimates suggest two-thirds of the blind are
unemployed. Potential treatments are under development, including pharmaceutical, genetic, stem cell,
optogenetic and prosthetic approaches, but almost all target the retina and thus offer little hope to a large
portion of the blind population. This includes battlefield soldiers, returning from combat with bilateral traumatic
eye injury, and other members of the general population with similar afflictions. It also includes those with
glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy, the 3 most common cause of blindness
in aging Veterans (and the general population). The lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of the thalamus is an
attractive site for implantation of a prosthesis as it is beyond the disease/trauma associated with most causes
of blindness and thus a working device would offer a treatment to large portions of the blind population. In
addition, the LGN is more spatially expansive than the retina and thus allows for a larger number of stimulation
sites and higher acuity. At the same time, the neural signaling patterns used by LGN neurons are much less
abstract than those of the visual cortex, thereby allowing for more straightforward encoding schemes (than
those required by cortical prostheses). While it has been challenging to develop a high-count, multi-channel
device that can safely be implanted into a deep brain structure, our colleagues have recently developed such a
device and much effort is underway to advance this technology. However, little is known about how to
effectively stimulate the LGN with a prosthesis and this lack of understanding will impede progress towards a
clinical device. Here, we propose 4 Aims focused on learning how to effectively drive LGN neurons with a
prosthesis. Our initial testing shows that stimulation from of the LGN can indeed drive downstream visual
circuits and further, that primary visual cortex (V1) is activated as well (secondary to the activation of the LGN).
Thus, our Aims will focus on determining how to most effectively activate the LGN and we will explore whether
the same conditions that maximize LGN activation also produce robust activation of visual cortex. As part of
this investigation, we will also explore whether individual cell types in LGN have different sensitivities to electric
stimulation as is the case in many other regions of the CNS. This will be quite useful as the different layers of
LGN are comprised of different cell types and understanding how to optimally activate each may lead to better
outcomes. Finally, we will evaluate the stabilit...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10867260
- **Project number:** 5I01BX005959-02
- **Recipient organization:** VA BOSTON HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
- **Principal Investigator:** Shelley Fried
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-07-01 → 2027-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10867260

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10867260, Functional analysis of an LGN-based visual prosthesis (5I01BX005959-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10867260. Licensed CC0.

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