Application of MEMS in Optobionics Retinal Implant.ppt

Application of MEMS in Optobionics: Retinal Implant By Alessandro Beghini PhD Student Northwestern University Outline Eye physiology and retinal diseases Approaches to the problem: epiretinal and subretinal microimplant Characteristic of the approaches (descriptions, microfabrication,..) Biocompatibility Comparison of the two approaches Applications Conclusion (feasibility) Human Eye Retina Physiology Retinal Diseases Approaches to Retinal Diseases Epiretinal Microimplant (I) Epiretinal Microimplant: Components (II) Characteristics (III) Microfabrication (IV) Subretinal Microimplant (I) Microfabrication (II) Characteristics (III) Biocompatibility Epiretinal and Subretinal Device: Pros and Cons Applications and Experiments Conclusion Future Research Extend the number of active microchips to three and glue them to a PI foil. Improve biostability. Increase the number of electrode. Perform more experiment. Study in genetics and tissue engineering. * * Photoreceptors Retina neural layer Eye Principal diseases: Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and Age related Macular Degeneration (AMD); Symptoms: night blindness, lost peripheral vision (tunnel vision), loss of the ability to discriminate color; Possible cure: use of vitamin A; Current research on the genes which causes RP. The epiretinal approach stimulates the ganglion cells. The subretinal approach replaces photoreceptors and photodiodes. Main components: Retina encoder Telemetry link Stimulator device Photodiode with light sensitivity higher than 140 dB Spatial filtering Convolution of the of pixel parameters Receiver units: rectification, demodulation, decoding Generation of spike trains The most important point in epiretinal implant is the microfabrication of polymide film: The device resembles the degenerated photoreceptors, therefore the retina must be only partially damaged to apply this approach Fina