Douglas Shire, Patrick Doyle, Shawn Kelly, Marcus Gingerich, Jinghua Chen, Stuart Cogan, William Drohan, Oscar Mendoza, Luke Theogarajan, John Wyatt, Joseph Rizzo
This presentation concerns the engineering development of the Boston visual prosthesis for restoring useful vision to
patients blind with degenerative retinal disease. A miniaturized, hermetically-encased, 15-channel wirelessly-operated
retinal prosthetic was developed for implantation and pre-clinical studies in Yucatan mini-pig animal models. The
prosthesis conforms to the eye and drives a microfabricated polyimide stimulating electrode array having sputtered
iridium oxide electrodes. This array is implanted into the subretinal space using a specially-designed ab externo surgical
technique; the bulk of the prosthesis is on the surface of the sclera. The implanted device includes a hermetic titanium
case containing a 15-channel stimulator chip; secondary power/data receiving coils surround the cornea. Long-term in
vitro pulse testing was also performed on the electrodes to ensure their stability over years of operation. Assemblies
were first tested in vitro to verify wireless operation of the system in biological saline using a custom RF transmitter
circuit and primary coils. Stimulation pulse strength, duration and frequency were programmed wirelessly using a
computer with a custom graphical user interface. Operation of the retinal implant was verified in vivo in 3 minipigs for
more than three months by measuring stimulus artifacts on the eye surface using contact lens electrodes.
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