At approximately 15:45 hours yesterday, the body of a dark-colored field mouse was observed at the bottom of the pool. It appeared to be death by misadventure. However, when this technician attempted to remove the body from the scene, she was jumped upon by Etta Puppygirl, of this address. Ms. Puppygirl hit this technician squarely in the back, and she pitched forward into the water. While the evidence at the scene suggested accidental drowning, should other evidence come to light, Ms. Puppygirl should be further investigated.
Jeez. Do other CSIs go through this?
Ok. Enough of the nonsense. Sometimes I just cannot help myself. 🙂
And in the real, official news…Retina Today interviewed Carl Regillo about the ranibizumab port delivery system. It appears the RPDS is placed in the sclera. It is situated in the conjunctiva, the mucus membrane that covers the front of the eye. Where in the conjunctiva? It is placed in the pars plans (literally the “flat part” of the eye.) The pars plana is located near the junction between the sclera and the iris. That is the white part and the colored part. While the reservoir is initially implanted in the operating room, sutures are not required and it can be refilled on an outpatient basis.
Results of phase 2 clinical trial should be out very soon. The name of the study is LADDER.
While the RPDS system is the popular guy on the block now, reading this article, I found out it has competition! Replenish has invented a system called the Ophthalmic MicroPump System. This device sits on top of the sclera – not sure how that would work for me – but it is programmable. That part is cool.
Neurotech Pharmaceuticals has been working on Encapsulated Cell Therapy. This device will contain genetically engineered cells that will actually produce the substances needed to keep things working well. In other words, there would be no reason to refill the device. Put really basically, the other devices are filled with eggs. This device is filled with chickens that produce all the eggs needed.
As of the writing of this article, Neurotech Pharma was having a few problems producing the perfect “chicken.” That does not, however, mean they have given up.
And speaking of weird science and Carl Regillo, Healio reported Regillo will be heading up the only American feasibility study for the Alpha AMS Sub-retinal device.
This device is not for us. It is for retinitis pigmentosa patients who are blind. The Alpha replaces the missing and nonfunctional photoreceptors and apparently interfaces directly with the visual part of the central nervous system.
I found a 2013 article in MIT Technology Review that compares the Alpha to the Argus, the original artificial retina system we discussed. It appears the Alpha requires no external hardware while the Argus uses a camera mounted on glasses. The Argus surgery is three hours while the Alpha surgery can be up to 10 hours. Vision produced by either system is not great, but remember something can be better than nothing.
So that is that. No more drown mice today so I am hypothesizing we do not have a serial killer in the house. I would like a way to know which Puppygirl chewed on the furniture, though. Perhaps I need a consultation! Anyone know a forensic dentist?
Written August 5th, 2018