Light-actuated Chemical Stimulator for Retinal Prosthesis Interface

 描述(申请人提供)：据估计，超过1200万美国人患有视网膜退行性疾病，如视网膜色素变性(RP)和老年性黄斑变性(AMD)。不幸的是，由于这些疾病没有可用的治疗方法，许多患者最终会遭受视力丧失。视网膜假体是治疗这些疾病的唯一选择，它制造人工神经接口来取代受损的神经路径。基于电刺激的神经假体因其简单而得到最广泛的应用。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，这是视网膜假体需要高空间分辨率的。 介绍了一种基于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势。然而，这一概念相对较新，需要开发必要的工程手段来充分探索以化学刺激为基础的方法的可行性。这项研究的目标是开发一种新型的光激活化学刺激器，它模仿视网膜中光感受器的自然功能。利用自然光图像可以直接、独立地激活数以千计的流体通道，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，而不需要复杂的电气接口，如海量信号处理、电气互连、电力传输等。新型光激活化学刺激器的成功展示将代表着朝着基于神经递质的视网膜假体迈出的关键一步，并显著扩大基于神经递质的刺激方法的前沿，用于治疗或绕过神经系统器官受损区域。

 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.