Comparison of electrically-evoked ganglion cell responses in normal and degenerate retina

Retinal prosthesis is regarded as a promising method for restoring vision for the blind with retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age related macular degeneration (ARMD). Among the several prerequisites for retinal prosthesis to succeed, one of the most important factors is the optimization of electrical stimulation applied through the prosthesis. From the previous study, we showed that the electrical characteristics of diseased retina are different from those of normal retina. For the next step, we compared electrically evoked response properties of retinal ganglion cells and established the thresholds for charge density in normal and rd1 mouse using multi-electrode array (MEA). The threshold for charge density was higher in rd1 mouse. The mean values were 254.78 microC/cm(2) and 424.62 microC/cm(2) in normal and rd1 mouse, respectively.