Light-actuated Chemical Stimulator for Retinal Prosthesis Interface

 描述（由申请人提供）：估计超过1200万美国人患有视网膜变性疾病，如视网膜色素变性（RP）和年龄相关性黄斑变性（AMD）。 不幸的是，由于这些疾病没有可用的治疗方法，许多患者最终遭受视力丧失。 视网膜假体是一种制作人工神经接口来替代受损神经通路的方法，是治疗这些疾病的唯一选择。 基于电刺激的神经假体由于其简单性而得到了最广泛的应用。 然而，当这种方法应用于大量的神经刺激时，他们面临着许多障碍，这是视网膜假体中所需的高空间分辨率。 介绍了一种基于用神经递质化学物质刺激视网膜的原理的替代方法，以潜在地提供比电刺激方法更多的优点。 然而，这个概念相对较新，需要开发必要的工程手段来充分探索基于化学刺激的方法的可行性。 本研究的目的是开发一种新型的光激活化学刺激剂，其模拟视网膜中光感受器的自然功能。 成千上万的流体通道可以直接和独立地由自然光图像激活，而不依赖于外部电源。 这种独特的功能允许前所未有的高分辨率神经接口，而不需要复杂的电接口，如大规模信号处理，电互连，电力传输，新型光激活化学刺激器的成功演示将代表基于神经递质的视网膜假体的关键一步，并显着扩展神经递质的前沿，用于治疗或绕过神经系统器官的受损区域的基于刺激的方法。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): More than 12 million Americans are estimated to have retinal degenerative diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Unfortunately, due to no available therapeutic treatment for these diseases, many of patients are eventually suffering vision loss. Retinal prosthesis, which makes artificial neural interfaces to replace damaged neural path, is an only available option for these diseases. Neural prostheses based on electrical stimulation have been most widely used due to their simplicity. However, they face many hurdles when this method is applied to a large number of neural stimulation, which is required in retinal prostheses for high spatial resolution. An alternative approach based on the principle of stimulating the retina with neurotransmitter chemicals is introduced to potentially offer more advantages over the electrical stimulation approach. However, the concept is relatively new and necessary engineered means need to be developed to fully explore the feasibility of the chemical stimulation based approach. The goal of this research is to develop a novel light-activated chemical stimulator, which mimics natural function of photoreceptors in the retina. Thousands of fluidic channels can be activated directly and independently by natural light image without relying on external power source. This unique feature allows unprecedented high resolution neural interface without requiring complex electrical interfaces such as massive signal processing, electrical interconnections, power transmission, and etc. The successful demonstration of the novel light- activated chemical stimulator will represent a critical step towards neurotransmitter-based retinal prosthesis and significantly expand the frontiers of neurotransmitter-based stimulation approach for treating or bypassing damaged regions of nervous system organs.