Patterned electrical stimulation of the retina for high-resolution prostheses

项目摘要/摘要 我这项研究的长期目标是了解视觉信号的功能 并利用这一知识来治疗失明。这次会议的主要目标是 建议的工作是开发精确的、图案化的多电极刺激技术 视网膜，旨在推动高分辨率视网膜假体的发展 用来替代因退化而受损的视网膜功能的装置。具体目标包括 (1)诱发灵长类主要高分辨率神经节细胞的电活动 视网膜，以及变性大鼠视网膜中的几种神经节细胞类型，(2)选择性 刺激单个细胞达到正常的基本空间和时间分辨率 在一定范围的视网膜上，视觉信号传输到大脑，同时避免刺激轴突 偏心率，和(3)唤起的空间和时空模式的活动在人口 神经节细胞可以模仿复杂的视觉信号，正常情况下传输到大脑。我们 将应用我们独特的技术，同时独立地刺激和记录来自 许多神经节细胞在体外，使用与之相当但要小得多的电极阵列和 比目前视网膜假体中使用的密度更高。我们将利用这项技术来开发 模拟视觉信号的聚焦和图案化刺激的新方法，包括显影 以中央视网膜为靶点的新技术。我们还将利用我们在 灵长类视网膜与P23H突变大鼠视网膜变性模型的最大相关性 治疗失明的发现。我们的愿景是，这项工作将有助于下一代的设计 支持诸如物体的高级视觉功能的视网膜假体设备的产生 人类患者的识别和运动感知。

Project Summary/Abstract The long-term objectives of my research are to understand the visual signaling function of the retina and to exploit this knowledge for the treatment of blindness. The major goal of the proposed work is to develop techniques for precise, patterned multi-electrode stimulation of the retina, with the purpose of advancing the development of high-resolution retinal prosthetic devices to replace the function of retinas damaged by degeneration. The specific aims involve (1) evoking electrical activity in the major high-resolution ganglion cell types of the primate retina, as well as several ganglion cell types in the degenerating rat retina, (2) selectively stimulating individual cells to achieve the elementary spatial and temporal resolution of normal visual signals transmitted to the brain while avoiding stimulation of axons, over a range of retinal eccentricities, and (3) evoking spatial and spatiotemporal patterns of activity in populations of ganglion cells that can mimic the complex visual signals normally transmitted to the brain. We will apply our unique technology to simultaneously and independently stimulate and record from many ganglion cells in vitro, using an array of electrodes comparable to but much smaller and denser than those used in current retinal prosthetics. We will exploit this technology to develop new methods for focal and patterned stimulation to mimic visual signals, including development of novel technologies to target the central retina. We will also leverage our experience with the primate retina and the P23H mutant rat model of retinal degeneration to maximize the relevance of the findings for treating blindness. Our vision is that the work will aid the design of the next generation of retinal prosthetic devices to support advanced visual functions such as object recognition and motion sensing in human patients.