The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to address the most common causes of blindness worldwide. Retinal diseases account for vision loss in over 25 million Americans. Worldwide, the prevalence of blindness in children is determined largely by socioeconomic development and availability preventative care. By 2020, the World Health Organization estimates that visual impairment among children age 14 and under will reach almost 19 million, and adults will reach almost 266 million.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes a SMART surgical tool to enable safe and precise delivery of stem cells and genes to help repair and restore the vision of patients with retinal degeneration. Studies have shown cell transplant technology and injectable therapeutics improve vision in afflicted patients. However, due to the delicate nature of retinal tissue, this procedure is challenging to perform successfully. The proposed tool addresses the unmet need for better visualization and targeted delivery of therapeutic agents. Precise delivery of treatment is expected to deliver benefits in preventing and correcting retinal diseases.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
