Non-invasive Ultrasound Stimulated Retinal Prosthesis

摘要 老年性黄斑变性和视网膜色素变性导致视网膜感光细胞丢失，导致 每年有数千人失明。视网膜假体设备通过以下方式治疗这些无法治愈的疾病 电或化学刺激存活的视网膜神经元，并在眼睛内植入设备。然而， 现有的设备非常昂贵，具有侵入性，需要复杂的植入手术。在此，我们建议 探索一种完全非侵入性的视网膜修复新方法。之前的研究已经证明 超声波诱导大鼠海马区、运动区和火蜥蜴神经活动的可行性 视网膜细胞。我们最近证明，聚焦的单元素超声换能器可以引起尖峰。 哺乳动物视网膜神经元的活动。为了开发潜在的超声假体设备，我们必须 克服几个技术挑战： 1)设计一种对视网膜刺激安全有效(即优化)的超声设备。 2)声学作用下视网膜神经网络神经活动的三维成像 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。 这项研究的目标是通过使用相控阵来开发超声刺激，这种相控阵有可能取代 视网膜的侵入性假体电刺激。首先，我们将开发专业的超声波单元体- 用于视网膜刺激的元件换能器/相控阵；我们将设计一种最佳的超声刺激 产生可控和一致的高时空分辨率视网膜反应的范例。这个 本研究的目的有两个：1)研究超声刺激视网膜的生物物理机制 以及2)对开发的超声设备进行功能测试。最后，在体外和体内 将开展使用集成超声刺激的兔研究。

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.