Development of a micromachined epiretinal vision prosthesis
1Department of Microsystems Engineering-IMTEK, Laboratory for Biomedical Microtechnology, University of Freiburg, Georges-Koehler-Allee 102, 79110 Freiburg, Germany. stieglitz@imtek.de
Journal of Neural Engineering
|October 24, 2009
Summary
This study presents an epiretinal vision prosthesis for retinitis pigmentosa patients. Chronic animal experiments demonstrated spatially selective cortical activation, paving the way for restored vision through neural prostheses.
Area of Science:
- Microsystems Engineering
- Neuroscience
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Photoreceptor degeneration, such as in retinitis pigmentosa, causes blindness.
- Neural prostheses are being developed to restore vision by interfacing with the nervous system.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present the development of an epiretinal vision prosthesis.
- To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of this approach for vision restoration.
Main Methods:
- Development of a thin, flexible epiretinal implant with hybrid electronics integration.
- Utilizing polyimide as a non-cytotoxic substrate material.
- Non-hermetic encapsulation with parylene C and chronic animal implantation.
Main Results:
- Polyimide substrate confirmed to be non-cytotoxic.
- Parylene C encapsulation demonstrated stability for at least 3 months in vivo.
- A 25-channel implant successfully achieved spatially selective cortical activation in chronic animal experiments.
Conclusions:
- The developed epiretinal vision prosthesis shows promise for restoring vision in retinitis pigmentosa.
- Successful technology transfer to companies pursuing medical device approval in Europe and the USA.
- This work represents a significant step towards clinical application of neural prostheses for blindness.
