“Photovoltaic Restoration of Sight in Animals

with Retinal Degeneration”

Featuring: Daniel Palanker, Ph.D.

Daniel Palanker, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and in the Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory at Stanford University. He received MSc in Physics in 1984 from the Yerevan State University in Armenia, and PhD in Applied Physics in 1994 from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Dr. Palanker is working on optical and electronic technologies for diagnostic, therapeutic, surgical and prosthetic applications, primarily in ophthalmology. These studies include laser-tissue interactions with applications to non-damaging retinal laser therapy and to ocular surgery with ultrafast lasers. In the field of electro-neural interfaces, Dr. Palanker is developing retinal prosthesis for restoration of sight to the blind and implants for electronic control of organs, including glands and blood vessels. He is also working on interferometric imaging of neural signals. Several of his developments are in clinical practice world-wide: Pulsed Electron Avalanche Knife (PEAK PlasmaBlade), Patterned Scanning Laser Photocoagulator (PASCAL), and OCT-guided Laser System for Cataract Surgery (Catalys). Several others are in clinical trials: Gene therapy of the retinal pigment epithelium (Ocular BioFactory, Avalanche Biotechnologies Inc); Neural stimulation for enhanced tear secretion (TearBud, Allergan Inc.); Smartphone-based ophthalmic diagnostics and monitoring (Paxos, DigiSight Inc.). Dr. Palanker is a Scientific Advisor to Abbot Medical Optics, Topcon Medical Lasers, Pixium Vision, Avalanche Biotechnologies, Oculeve, and DigiSight.