This study aims to prepare for the first-in-human clinical trial of cone optogenetics vision restoration. As a first step, this worldwide multicenter ocular imaging study (EyeConic Study) is performed to identify eligible patients.
In a subset of patients with inherited retinal dystrophies (IRDs), cones lose their light-sensitive outer segments but remain alive in a dormant stage. This creates an opportunity to resensitize them through targeted optogenetic tools. However, the true proportion of low vision patients harboring dormant, non-functional cones, is currently unknown. The worldwide multicenter retrospective study (EyeConic) aims to estimate the proportion of low vision patients with remaining cone cell bodies for the first time.