John R. Hetling is an associate professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the Richard and Loan Hill Department of Bioengineering and department of ophthalmology and visual sciences. He is also the director of undergraduate studies for the department of bioengineering and the director of the Neural Engineering Vision Laboratory at UIC, and chief science officer of RetMap, Inc. At UIC, Hetling developed the first undergraduate course track in neural engineering, and in 2008, he and his students authored a widely accepted definition [1] of the field.
After graduating from Bates College in 1989 with a degree in biology, Hetling worked for two years in the neuroelectrophysiology laboratory of Patsy Dickinson at Bowdoin College studying rhythmic motor pattern generation. He then began his PhD at UIC in 1991 in the laboratory of David R. Pepperberg, which he completed in 1997. Following his PhD he did a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at UIC before being named a visiting assistant professor in the department of bioengineering, also at UIC. Hetling began his tenure track faculty position as an assistant professor at UIC in 1998.
Hetling is an expert on the electrophysiology of vision, with accomplishments in retinal prosthesis and electrical stimulation therapy for retinal disease, leading to invited book chapters in leading Neural Engineering textbooks [2] [3] and earning the Excellence in Neural Engineering Award early in his academic career. He has published extensively in the field. [4] His main impact is the development of new diagnostic technologies [5] for degenerative eye diseases, where he pioneered the idea of examining the peripheral retina for early signs of disease. He developed the enabling technology behind multi-electrode electroretinography (meERG), with two issued US patents, [6] both under commercial license. He also developed the enabling technology behind peripheral pattern electroretinography (ppERG), with two international patents pending.
Hetling also co-developed the first odor-detection system capable of identifying airborne odors in real time, [7] and has patents pending for developing technologies related to clinical electrophysiology and therapeutic hypothermia.
He is the brother of journalist Matt Hongoltz-Hetling.
The retina is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focused two-dimensional image of the visual world on the retina, which then processes that image within the retina and sends nerve impulses along the optic nerve to the visual cortex to create visual perception. The retina serves a function which is in many ways analogous to that of the film or image sensor in a camera.
Ophthalmology is a clinical and surgical specialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. A former term is oculism.
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic disorder of the eyes that causes loss of vision. Symptoms include trouble seeing at night and decreasing peripheral vision. As peripheral vision worsens, people may experience "tunnel vision". Complete blindness is uncommon. Onset of symptoms is generally gradual and often begins in childhood.
Retinal detachment is a disorder of the eye in which the retina peels away from its underlying layer of support tissue. Initial detachment may be localized, but without rapid treatment the entire retina may detach, leading to vision loss and blindness. It is a surgical emergency.
Electroretinography measures the electrical responses of various cell types in the retina, including the photoreceptors, inner retinal cells, and the ganglion cells. Electrodes are placed on the surface of the cornea or on the skin beneath the eye to measure retinal responses. Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) responses are measured with an EOG test with skin-contact electrodes placed near the canthi. During a recording, the patient's eyes are exposed to standardized stimuli and the resulting signal is displayed showing the time course of the signal's amplitude (voltage). Signals are very small, and typically are measured in microvolts or nanovolts. The ERG is composed of electrical potentials contributed by different cell types within the retina, and the stimulus conditions can elicit stronger response from certain components.
A retinal implant is a visual prosthesis for restoration of sight to patients blinded by retinal degeneration. The system is meant to partially restore useful vision to those who have lost their photoreceptors due to retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) or age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Retinal implants are being developed by a number of private companies and research institutions, and three types are in clinical trials: epiretinal, subretinal, and suprachoroidal. The implants introduce visual information into the retina by electrically stimulating the surviving retinal neurons. So far, elicited percepts had rather low resolution, and may be suitable for light perception and recognition of simple objects.
Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) is a group of genetic diseases seen in certain breeds of dogs and, more rarely, cats. Similar to retinitis pigmentosa in humans, it is characterized by the bilateral degeneration of the retina, causing progressive vision loss culminating in blindness. The condition in nearly all breeds is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait, with the exception of the Siberian Husky (inherited as an X chromosome linked trait) and the Bullmastiff (inherited as an autosomal dominant trait). There is no treatment.
Sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome (SARDS) is a disease in dogs causing sudden blindness. It can occur in any breed, but female dogs may be predisposed. Approximately 4000 cases are seen in the United States annually.
Stargardt disease is the most common inherited single-gene retinal disease. In terms of the first description of the disease, it follows an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern, which has been later linked to bi-allelic ABCA4 gene variants (STGD1). However, there are Stargardt-like diseases with mimicking phenotypes that are referred to as STGD3 and STGD4, and have a autosomal dominant inheritance due to defects with ELOVL4 or PROM1 genes, respectively. It is characterized by macular degeneration that begins in childhood, adolescence or adulthood, resulting in progressive loss of vision.
A visual prosthesis, often referred to as a bionic eye, is an experimental visual device intended to restore functional vision in those with partial or total blindness. Many devices have been developed, usually modeled on the cochlear implant or bionic ear devices, a type of neural prosthesis in use since the mid-1980s. The idea of using electrical current to provide sight dates back to the 18th century, discussed by Benjamin Franklin, Tiberius Cavallo, and Charles LeRoy.
David Anthony Newsome M.D. FARVO was a scientist, ophthalmologist, inventor, and author. He studied the treatment of age-related macular degeneration and proposed the usefulness of zinc supplements to slow the rate of vision loss from age-related macular degeneration.
Jocelyn Faubert is a Canadian psychophysicist best known for his work in the fields of visual perception, vision of the elderly, and neuropsychology. Faubert holds the NSERC-Essilor Industrial Research Chair in Visual Perception and Presbyopia. He is the director of the Laboratory of Psychophysics and Visual Perception at the University of Montreal. Faubert has also been involved in the transfer of research and developments from the laboratory into the commercial domain. He is a co-founder and member of the Board of Directors of CogniSens Inc.
Michael David Abràmoff is an American neuroscientist, ophthalmologist, vitreoretinal surgeon, computer engineer, and entrepreneur. He is the Watzke Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa.
Salvatore Domenic Morgera is an American and Canadian engineer, scientist, inventor, and academic. Morgera is a Tau Beta Pi Eminent Engineer, Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology(IET), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Fellow of the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (AAIA), Professor of Electrical Engineering, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, and Director of the C4ISR Defense & Intelligence and Bioengineering Laboratories at the University of South Florida and Professor Emeritus at McGill University, Concordia University, and Florida Atlantic University.
Mark S. Humayun is a Pakistani-American ophthalmologist, engineer, scientist, inventor and academic – the only ophthalmologist elected a member of both U.S. National Academies of Medicine and Engineering. He is a university professor with joint appointments at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.
Hypotrichosis with juvenile macular dystrophy is an extremely rare congenital disease characterized by sparse hair growth (hypotrichosis) from birth and progressive macular corneal dystrophy.
Wolfgang Fink is a German-American theoretical physicist. He is currently an associate professor and the inaugural Maria & Edward Keonjian Endowed Chair of Microelectronics at the University of Arizona. Fink has joint appointments in the Departments of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Systems & Industrial Engineering, Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering, and Ophthalmology & Vision Science at the University of Arizona. He is the current Vice President of the Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) Society.
Gabriel Alejandro Silva is an American neuroscientist and bioengineer. He is a Professor of Bioengineering and Faculty Endowed Scholar in Engineering at the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) as well as the Founding Director of the Center for Engineered Natural Intelligence (CENI) at UCSD.
Paul A. Sieving is a former director of the National Eye Institute, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Prior to joining the NIH in 2001, he served on the faculty of the University of Michigan Medical School as the Paul R. Lichter Professor of Ophthalmic Genetics. He also was the founding director of the Center for Retinal and Macular Degeneration in the university's Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.
Peter Szurman is a German ophthalmologist, scientist, and professor of ophthalmology in Sulzbach/Saar.