Retinitis Pigmentosa Research Paper

Retinitis Pigmentosa or RP is an inherited disease that affects 1 in 5000 people worldwide. The disease causes the cells in the retina to slowly deteriorate. Molecular defects in different genes cause Retinitis Pigmentosa. RP results from harmful changes in genes needed to make proteins for rods and cones that are in the retina. In the early stages, the rods are more affected than the cones. When the rods start dying, the patient will experience night blindness and some vision loss. The cones will then start breaking down due to the loss of rods. In the late stages, the cones die and therefore as the result the patient will develop tunnel vision. Tunnel vision is like looking through a tube. This makes it hard for the patient to complete daily tasks. Eventually the patient with RP will lose most of their eyesight. Symptoms include loss of side vision or tunnel vision and difficulty seeing at night, and usually starts during childhood. RP can be diagnosed through an examination of the retina. An eye care professional will use an ophthalmoscope to get a clear view of the retina. Dark pigment deposits on the retina mean that the patient does have Retinitis Pigmentosa. However, it can also be diagnosed through a visual field testing, Electroretinogram (ERG), or genetic testing.
The Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System is for patients blinded by retinal diseases, including late stage Retinitis Pigmentosa. This system includes a camera built into a pair of glasses, a small device, and an implant in the patient's eye. The video taken by the camera is converted by the small device into electronic signals. The implant receives the signals and uses this information to stimulate cells, and the information is transmitted to the brain. In the brain it is understood as patterns of light. The patient learns to read and understand these patterns so they can recognize