CAREER: A Biomimetic Microsystems Technology towards a Novel Retinal Prosthesis

申请人提出在视网膜假体领域进行研究，以帮助受退化性感光器疾病影响的人。与迄今为止开发的大多数其他视网膜假体相比，PI提出了一种仿生方法，使用基于化学的接口而不是电接口来刺激神经元。他建议开发一种微系统，它可以局部分配存储的神经递质来刺激神经元，微系统完全由自然进入眼睛的光线供电。所提出的方法规避了具有电刺激的视网膜假体中的功率问题以及这些设备中的电化学反应的问题，溶解了互连结构和导线。与研究电刺激植入物的大型联盟（例如，在美国和德国）相比，据PI称，目前只有两组正在考虑化学刺激。所提出的假体包括光激活的微流体分配器的阵列，其结合用于发电的太阳能电池、用于流体分配的压电致动器、用于神经递质的流体室和用于其局部分配的端口。PI已经进行了初步工作，表明太阳能电池可以产生足够的电力来驱动致动器，显示了点胶过程的可行性，并研究了合适的致动和检测机制。

0449352SaggereThe applicant proposes research in the area of retinal prosthesis to assist people affected by degenerative photoreceptor diseases. In contrast to most other retinal prosthesis developed so far, the PI proposes a biomimetic approach using a chemical-based interface instead of an electrical interface to stimulate neurons. He proposes to develop a microsystem, which can locally dispense stored neurotransmitters to stimulate the neurons, with the microsystem being fully powered by the light naturally entering the eye. The proposed approach circumvents power issues in retina prosthesis with electrical stimulation and problems with electrochemical reactions in these devices, dissolving interconnect structures and wires. Compared to the large consortia working on implants with electrical stimulation (e.g. in the US and in Germany), only two groups, according to the PI, are considering currently the chemical stimulation. The proposed prosthesis comprises an array of light activated microfluidic dispensers incorporating solar cells for power generation, piezoelectric actuators for fluid dispensing, fluid chambers for the neurotransmitter and the ports for their local dispensing. The PI has performed preliminary work, indicating that the solar cells can generate sufficient power to drive the actuators, showing the feasibility of the dispensing process, and studying suitable actuation and detection mechanisms.