Surgical feasibility of wide-field dual-array suprachoroidal–transretinal stimulation (STS) prosthesis in middle-sized animals

Abstract

Purpose : To investigate the feasibility of implanting a newly developed wide-field dual-array suprachoroidal–transretinal stimulation (STS) prosthesis in healthy dogs and cats.

Methods : Three healthy dogs and three healthy cats were used in this study. The STS dual array consisted of two arrays with 25 electrodes. The arrays were implanted into a scleral pocket of each of three healthy beagle dogs and three healthy cats under general anesthesia. Color fundus photography and Optical coherence tomography (OCT) were performed postoperatively. The animals were euthanatized after the experimental period and the retinas were evaluated histologically.

Results : All the prostheses were successfully implanted without complications, and no serious complications occurred during the experimental period. The fixation of the implant was stable throughout the experimental period. Fundus photographs and OCT revealed no serious damage in the retina and choroid around the arrays.
Histologic evaluations showed good preservation of the retina over the electrode array.

Conclusions : Implantation of a newly developed wide-field dual-array STS retinal prosthesis into a scleral pocket of animals is surgically feasible and can be performed without significant damage to the retina or the animal. These findings indicate that it might be possible to implant more STS electrode arrays to cover a larger area of the retina to activate a larger visual field.

This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.