WHERE LIMITED SIGHT DOESN’T HAVE TO LIMIT LIFE
José-Alain Sahel
When people lose their vision, the risk of losing their independence is a major concern. José-Alain Sahel, Distinguished Professor and Eye and Ear Foundation Professor and Chair, Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, is devoted to helping them keep or recover both. In the first year since the opening of the UPMC Vision Institute, which he directs, he and his team enrolled multiple patients in research studies, several of which rely on assistive technologies.
Sahel works with Clive D’Souza, assistant professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology. “We use a driving simulator where we can really mimic, as close as possible to reality, the impact of low vision on driving,” says Sahel, a global leader in vision restoration techniques who is known for his breakthrough work in optogenetics to partially restore sight to the blind.
“We are exploring the abilities of patients to direct their attention toward objects that are moving in the periphery. And then we have this driving simulator, which mimics the condition of driving in real life,” says Sahel. “This project is integrated with our Center for Assistive Technology, where we have a real driving car where people can be monitored.”
They plan to add eye-tracking technology “so we can monitor visual attention on a constant basis and try to reeducate patients,” says Sahel. The team’s goal is to make patients aware if they are ignoring important parts of the scene and alert them that this could be dangerous for them and for others.
His patients also use the StreetLab platform he developed in his previous role as founder and director of the Vision Institute in Paris, where they are able to mimic in a realistic environment what is happening for a patient. Researchers can control aspects such as the lighting, the temperature of color, the intensity and the noise to make the environment as realistic as possible. Together with Rakie Cham, a professor of bioengineering who holds secondary appointments in ophthalmology and physical therapy, and Galen Holland, a research engineer, they can also monitor, using infrared cameras, the movement of a body, gait, gaze and head movements.
The lab scores the impact of visual impairment on motor performance, measuring and quantifying the interactions between seeing and acting—between action and vision.
“Because there are only two platforms like that in the world, the one in Paris and one in Pittsburgh, and because we wanted to be able to apply that across many centers, we developed a virtual reality system, which will be available in dozens of settings,” says Sahel.
The team is also developing a patient-centric platform for remote care, using technologies to monitor vision at home. Clinicians can provide clinical guidance and tell the patient whether to come in for treatment right away or to come back for follow-up a few months later.