Integrated flexible ocular coil for power and data transfer in retinal prostheses

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Retinal prostheses require reliable power and data transfer components for functionality.
• Traditional ocular coils are bulky and difficult to integrate with implantable electronic systems.
• Existing solutions lack the miniaturization and flexibility needed for seamless integration with neural interfaces.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a microfabricated, fully-implantable coil for power and data transfer in retinal prostheses.
• To develop a thin, flexible, and biocompatible coil using parylene thin-film technology.
• To enable direct integration of the coil with other components for a complete microfabricated system.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a parylene-based coil with 10 turns of thin-film metal wires using microfabrication techniques.
• Characterization of the coil's physical properties, including thickness (<10 μm) and flexibility.
• Heat-forming the coil structure to conform to the curvature of the eye for extraocular implantation.

Main Results:

• A thin (<10 μm) and flexible microfabricated coil was successfully developed.
• The coil can be heat-formed to match ocular curvature, facilitating extraocular implantation.
• The parylene-based coil demonstrated compatibility for direct integration with multielectrode arrays and ASICs.

Conclusions:

• The microfabricated coil represents a significant advancement for retinal prosthesis components.
• This technology enables the creation of fully microfabricated, implantable systems for visual restoration.
• The device offers improved integration capabilities compared to traditional ocular coils.