Non-invasive Ultrasound Stimulated Retinal Prosthesis

摘要 黄斑变性和视网膜色素变性导致视网膜感光细胞的丧失， 每年有成千上万的人失明。视网膜假体装置通过以下方式治疗这些无法治愈的疾病： 用植入眼内的装置电或化学刺激存活的视网膜神经元。然而，在这方面， 现有的装置非常昂贵、具有侵入性并且需要复杂的植入手术。在此，我们建议 探索一种完全无创的视网膜修复新方法。先前的研究已经证明 超声波引发大鼠海马和运动皮层神经活动的可行性，以及蝾螈 视网膜细胞我们最近证明，聚焦单元件超声换能器可以引起尖峰 在哺乳动物视网膜神经元中的活性。为了开发潜在的超声波假体设备，我们必须 克服几个技术挑战： 1)设计一种安全有效的超声设备（即，优化）用于视网膜刺激。 2)开发声学条件下视网膜神经网络中神经活动的三维映射 刺激.这种成像方法对于研究超声的生物学机制是必不可少的 超声刺激方案的刺激和功能评价。 本研究的目标是通过使用相控阵来开发超声刺激， 视网膜侵入性人工电刺激首先，我们将开发专业的超声波单- 元件换能器/相控阵视网膜刺激;我们将设计一个最佳的超声刺激 这是一个新的范例，以产生具有高时空分辨率的可控和一致的视网膜响应。的 本研究的目的是双重的：1）研究超声刺激对视网膜的生物物理机制， 神经元，以及2）对所开发的超声设备进行功能测试。最后，在体外和体内 将开发使用集成超声刺激的兔子研究。

Abstract Age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa lead to loss of retinal photoreceptor cells, causing blindness in thousands of people each year. Retinal prosthetic devices treat these incurable conditions by electrically or chemically stimulating surviving retinal neurons with implanted devices in the eye. However, existing devices are very expensive, invasive, and require complex implantation surgeries. Here we propose to explore a new approach in retinal prosthetics that is entirely noninvasive. Previous studies have demonstrated the feasibility of ultrasound to elicit neural activity in the rat hippocampus and motor cortex, and salamander retina cell. We recently demonstrated that a focused single element ultrasound transducer can elicit spiking activity in mammalian retinal neurons. In order to develop potential ultrasound prosthetic devices, we have to overcome several technical challenges: 1) Engineer an ultrasound device that is safe and effective (i.e., optimized) for retinal stimulation. 2) Develop three-dimensional mapping of neural activity in the retinal neural network under acoustic stimulation. Such an imaging method is essential for studying the biological mechanism of ultrasound stimulation and functional evaluation of ultrasound stimulation protocols. The goal of this study is to develop ultrasound stimulation by using phased array that can potentially replace invasive prosthetic electrical stimulation for retina. The first, we will develop specialized ultrasonic single- element transducer/phased arrays for retinal stimulation; we will design an optimal ultrasound stimulation paradigm to produce controllable and consistent retinal responses with high spatiotemporal resolution. The purpose of this study is two-fold: 1) to investigate biophysical mechanisms of ultrasound stimulation on retinal neurons, and 2) to conduct functional testing of the ultrasound devices developed. Finally, in vitro and in vivo rabbit studies using integrated ultrasound stimulation will be developed.