Wireless, Implantable Interface to Visual Cortex
Abstract
Blindness is a devastating condition affecting millions of patients worldwide. Many of these patients have damage to the retina or early visual pathways but have an intact visual cortex. The key to improving the lives of these patients is restoring some visual perception with the action of a visual cortical prothesis (VCP), a device that is implanted directly in the visual cortex. The most significant limitations in the VCPs that have been introduced to date is the very limited number of electrodes in these devices. The most advanced device to date, the Orion, from Second Sight Medical Products, has only 64 electrodes. Members of our team are involved in the clinical trials of Orion; we are, therefore, very familiar with this state of the art. No system has more than 100 electrodes. While patients with these devices are able to perform some visually guided behaviors, the overall quality of visual perception created by these devices is quite poor. Here, we are developing a device with three orders of magnitude higher electrode count and density, allowing a richness of stimulation patterns that has never before been possible. While we simply do not know the quality of visual perception that may be possible here, the expectation is that with this dramatic increase in the number of electrodes, this should be considerably enhanced. While the number of electrodes on a single chip increases to more than 65k, the implant displaces a volume of only 3 mm^3, allowing the device to sit entirely in the subdural space with wireless powering and communication. This means that the implantation of the device can be made with only a small slit in the cranium that quickly heals, making the insertion of the device much less invasive that than of other implants, which require removal of large regions of the skull or leave the patient with wires and leads from the electrodes to large implanted electronics. This is made possible by taking advantage of the latest advances in complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) electronics, the same technology that has fueled the revolution of computing and communication technology. For 100 electrodes, the Orion device, in contrast displaces a volume almost three orders of magnitude more than this. In this project, we will prove the safety and efficacy of the device with a series of experiments in pigs with simulation and recording from V1. Information for recording with known visual stimuli will be used to inform the requisite stimulation patterns. We will also perform basic biocompatibility and safety studies required to get approval by the FDA to perform the first clinical trial in humans.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 04, 2024
- Source ID
- HT94252310758
Entities
People
- Kenneth Shepard
Organizations
- Columbia University
- United States Army