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SUMMARY:Cancelled. Development of a Cortical Visual Neuroprosthesis for th
 e blind
DTSTART:20200324T121500
DTEND:20200324T131500
DTSTAMP:20260929T053404Z
UID:4a60e3ea58fd76d45adb0cf024cf796ebf4701c3a7cad7117d33374e
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Eduardo Fernandez\, University Miguel Hernandez and CIBE
 R BBN\, SP.\nCANCELLED\n\nCortical prostheses are a subgroup of visual neu
 roprostheses capable of evoking visual percepts in profoundly blind people
  through direct electrical stimulation of the occipital cortex. This appro
 ach may be the only treatment available for blindness caused by glaucoma\,
  end-stage retinal degenerations\, optic atrophy or trauma to the retina a
 nd/or optic nerves. However\, there are still a relevant number of open qu
 estions and more experiments should be done to achieve the clinical goals 
 envisioned by this new technology.\nWe are now facing the challenge of cre
 ating a cortical visual neuroprosthesis\, based on intracortical microelec
 trodes\, which could allow to provide a limited but useful visual sense to
  profoundly blind.  We will introduce preliminary results of electrical s
 timulation of human visual areas and review some of the principles and dif
 ficulties related to the development of a cortical visual neuroprosthesis 
 for the blind using intracortical microelectrodes. We will emphasize the n
 eed of customize the visual prosthetic device for the needs of each patien
 t and the role of neural plasticity in order to achieve the desired result
 s. Finally\, we will discuss some of the exciting opportunities and challe
 nges that lie in this intersection of neuroscience research\, biomedical e
 ngineering\, neuro-opthalmology and neurosurgery.\n\nBio. Dr. Fernandez re
 ceived a M.D. degree from the University of Alicante (1986) and a Ph.D. in
  Neuroscience with honors in 1990. He is currently Professor and Chairman 
 of the Department of Histology and Anatomy of the University Miguel Herná
 ndez (Spain)\, Director of the Neural Engineering Group of the Centro de I
 nvestigación Biomédica en Red (CIBER) in the subject area of Bioengineer
 ing\, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN\, Spain)\, and Adjunct Prof
 essor at John Moran Eye Center (University of Utah\, USA). He is a qualifi
 ed MD who combines biomedicine (molecular and cellular biology\, biochemis
 try\, anatomy\, physiology and regenerative medicine) with the physical sc
 iences and engineering to develop innovative solutions to the problems rai
 sed by interfacing the human nervous system. In the latest years he has be
 en coordinating several National and International projects to demonstrate
  the feasibility of a visual neuroprosthesis\, interfaced with the occipit
 al cortex\, as a means through which a limited but useful sense of vision 
 could be restored to profoundly blind. Furthermore\, he is also working on
  brain plasticity and brain reorganization in severe vision loss.
LOCATION:Campus Biotech H8 Auditorium D https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==H8%201
 %20144.167
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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