Fabrication of Pillar Shaped Electrode Arrays for Artificial Retinal Implants.docVIP

Sensors 2008, 8, 5845-5856; DOI: 10.3390/s8095845 OPEN ACCESS sensors ISSN 1424-8220 /sensors Article Fabrication of Pillar Shaped Electrode Arrays for Artificial Retinal Implants Eui Tae Kim 1, Jong-Mo Seo 1, Se Joon Woo 2 , Jing Ai Zhou 1, Hum Chung 2 and Sung June Kim 1,* 1 School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; E-Mails: arnoldk2@snu.ac.kr (E. T. K.); callme@snu.ac.kr (J. M. S.); sallyjzhou@ (J. A. Z) 2 Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine and Seoul Artificial Eye Center, Nano Bioelectronics System Research Center (NBS-ERC), Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea; E-Mails: sejoon1@ (S. J. W.); hchung@snu.ac.kr (H. C.) * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; Bldg. 301 Room# 1006, Seoul National University, San 56-1, Shinlim-dong, Kwanak-ku, Seoul 151-742, Korea; Email: kimsj@snu.ac.kr; Tel.: +82-2-880-1812; Fax: +82-2-882-4158 Received: 21 August 2008; in revised form: 22 September 2008 / Accepted: 23 September 2008 / Published: 24 September 2008 Abstract: Polyimide has been widely applied to neural prosthetic devices, such as the retinal implants, due to its well-known biocompatibility and ability to be micropatterned. However, planar films of polyimide that are typically employed show a limited ability in reducing the distance between electrodes and targeting cell layers, which limits site resolution for effective multi-channel stimulation. In this paper, we report a newly designed device with a pillar structure that more effectively interfaces with the target. Electrode arrays were successfully fabricated and safely implanted inside the rabbit eye in suprachoroidal space. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) showed well-preserved pillar structures of the electrode without damage. Bipolar stimulation was applied through paired sites (6:1) and the neural responses were successfully recorded from several regions in the visual cortex. E