Surgical Implantation in a Pig Eye of a Hermetic, Retinal Prosthesis With Back Telemetry

Abstract

Purpose: : This work is related to the efforts of the Boston Retinal Implant Project (BRIP) to develop a sub-retinal prosthesis to restore vision to the blind. The specific purpose of this presentation is to present information on an upgraded prosthesis designed and built by the Boston Retinal Implant Project.

Methods: : An advanced generation retinal prosthetic device has been developed by the Boston Retinal Implant Project (see ARVO abstract, author: P. Doyle, 2010). This prosthesis contains a new and upgraded application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) that was designed by Sigenics, Inc. This chip drives 16 channels, and provides wireless, back telemetry. This ASIC has been fitted into a hermetically sealed titanium case. This assembly has been merged with an ultra-thin electrode polyimide electrode array with iridium oxide electrodes, which have passed long-term durability "soak tests" with continuous pulsing for over 1 year. The fully-assembled retinal prosthesis has been implanted into the sub-retinal space of two Yucatan mini-pigs using an ab externo procedure previously described.

Results: : Both of these upgraded retinal prostheses were successfully implanted into pig eyes, without obvious surgical complications. Both devices demonstrated the expected electrical activity after implantation. Both animals are being followed with prospective clinical and electrical evaluations.

Conclusions: : These results represent the first implantations of the BRIP to have wireless back telemetry. This electronic capability has been merged with previously-demonstrated hermetic methods, both for the ASIC and electrode array. This success is an important milestone for the "pre-clinical" testing to support future human implantations.

Keywords: retinal degenerations: hereditary • age-related macular degeneration • retina