Implantible Multiple Unit Visual Prosthesis: Towards a Second and Third Generation

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9808040 Liu The PI proposes to complete the construction of a retinal prosthesis designed to provide artificial vision to people blind due to the degeneration of retinal rod and cones, experienced in diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and age- related macular degeneration. The prosthesis is divided into two parts, one outside of the eye to acquire, code, and transmit an image, and the other inside the eye to receive and decode image data, and then apply the requested stimulation pattern to the retina. The system design must minimize power consumption and be biocompatible. The external portion consists of a special pair of glasses onto which is mounted a mini-camera, video-capture circuit, and power and video-data transmission circuit. Electrical power is transmitted wirelessly to the electronics in the eye using a two wire-coil arrangement similar to a transformer. Inside the eye, a chip has been designed to stimulate the retina in such a way as to form a 20x20 pixel image. This chip receives it's power and video-data wirelessly from a transmitter on the glasses. The improved version of this chip should be capable of sending operating-status back to the glasses for monitoring. Chip specifications are based on preliminary biological testing at Johns Hopkins. Biological testing of the prosthesis will take place at Johns Hopkins University, using dogs that are blind due to a genetic disorder that causes rod/cone loss similar to RP in humans. ***