100-channel neurostimulation circuit comprising a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) has been designed, constructed and tested. The ASIC forms a significant milestone and an integral component of a 100-electrode neurostimulation system being developed by the authors. The system comprises an externally worn transmitter and a body implantable stimulator. The purpose of the system is to communicate both data and power across tissue via radio-frequency (RF) telemetry such that externally programmable, constant current, charge balanced, biphasic stimuli may be delivered to neural tissue at 100 unique sites. An intrinsic reverse telemetry feature of the ASIC has been designed such that information pertaining to the device function, reconstruction of the stimulation voltage waveform, and the measurement of impedance may be obtained through noninvasive means. To compensate for the paucity of data pertaining to the stimulation thresholds necessary in evoking a physiological response, the ASIC has been designed with scaleable current output. The ASIC has been designed primarily as a treatment of degenerative disorders of the retina whereby the 100 channels are to be utilized in the delivery of a pattern of stimuli of varying intensity and or duty cycle to the surviving neural tissue of the retina. However, it is conceivable that other fields of neurostimulation such as cochlear prosthetics and functional electronic stimulation may benefit from the employment of the system.

CMOS neurostimulation ASIC with 100 channels, scaleable output, and bidirectional radio-frequency telemetry

The feasibility is investigated using three dimensional folded dipole antennas as a data-telemetry implantable receiving antenna in a dual-unit retinal prosthesis to restore partial vision to the blind. Three dimensional designs are explored in an effort to enhance certain antenna characteristics such as bandwidth and maximum gain while reducing the planar footprint size in comparison to its two dimensional equivalent. The current vector alignment between the three dimensional layers are examined through folding and rotating the dipole arms with respect to each other to fully optimize the antenna's characteristics. The performance of the 2D and 3D antennas were compared in simulations and further examined by fabricating and characterizing the performance in a transmit/ receive system in air and inside eye phantoms. Results show that three-dimensional antennas can provide larger bandwidth while being physically smaller than the correspondent two-dimensional ones, thus providing larger channel capacity that could lead to a system with an increased number of stimulating electrodes.

A Comparison of Two and Three Dimensional Dipole Antennas for an Implantable Retinal Prosthesis

http://www.ece.uvic.ca/~bctill/papers/neurimp/Peng_etal_2004.pdf

High frequency block of selected axons using an implantable microstimulator

Progress in the field of microelectronics has led to the development of visual prostheses for the treatment of blinding diseases. Different concepts of retinal replacement are currently under investigation. The aim of the retinal prostheses is to replace the function of lost photoreceptors in degenerative diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa. Within the field of visual prosthetic developments mainly two retinal based concepts are under investigation. One of the concepts is the epiretinal implant which acquires images of an external camera and after preprocessing by a computer reading this visual information into the human visual system. In the subretinal prosthesis design concept an array of stimulation electrodes is placed in the subretinal space. True to the concept the image falling on the retina and its light impulses are converted into electrical currents by microphotodiodes and the retina is stimulated with these locally. To test the feasibility of the concepts the biocompatibility and to determine basic stimulation parameters a lot of animal experiments and first human experiments were carried out Currently the research conducted by teams in Germany, the USA and Japan into epiretinal and subretinal implants has reached the stage where clinical trials can now be performed. Individual pilot studies were carried out for both the epiretinal and the subretinal implant by different research groups The results achieved by the researchers indicate that cortical action potentials can be triggered by electric retinal stimulation with both concepts. The experimental work has highlighted a whole range of obstacles, not all of which have yet been fully resolved. These findings offer hope that coarse restoration of vision may be feasible by electrical stimulation.

Retinal replacement--the development of microelectronic retinal prostheses--experience with subretinal implants and new aspects.

The retinal prosthesis test device is comprised of a thin wafer of glass made from nanochannel glass (NGC) with very small channels perpendicular to the plane of the wafer filled with an electrical conductor forming microwires. One surface of the glass is ground to a spherical shape consistent with the radius of curvature of the inside of the retina. The NGC is hybridized to a silicon de-multiplexer and a video image is serially input to a narrow, flexible micro-cable and read into a 2-D array of unit cells in a pixel-by-pixel manner which samples the analog video input and stores the value as a charge on a MOS capacitor. After all unit cells have been loaded with the pixel values for the current frame, a biphasic pulse is sent to each unit cell which modulates the pulse in proportion to the pixel value stored therein. Because the biphasic pulses flow in parallel to each unit cell from a global external connection, the adjacent retinal neurons are all stimulated simultaneously, analogous to image photons stimulating photoreceptors in a normal retina. A permanent retinal implant device uses a NGC array hybridized to a silicon chip, the image is simultaneously generated within each cell through a photon-to-electron conversion using a silicon photodiode. The photons propagate directly through into the backside of the device. Electrical power and any control signals are transmitted through an inductively driven coil or antenna on the chip. The device collects the charge in storage capacitors via the photonto-electron conversion process, stimulates the neural tissue with biphasic pulses in proportion to the stored charges, and resets the storage capacitors to repeat the process.

Permanent retinal implant device

In retina pigmentosa and macular degeneration, the photoreceptor cells of the retina (rods and cones) fail to respond to light. However, the discovery that direct electrical stimulation of retinal neurons can create visual sensation in patients inspires an electronic prosthesis which bypasses the defective photoreceptors. A prosthetic system is conceptually illustrated. A prototype implantable power and data receiver and neural stimulator, 4.6/spl times/4.7 mm/sup 2/ in 1.2 /spl mu/m CMOS, can drive a 10/spl times/10 array of retinal electrodes at real-time visual rates. The prototype serves two major goals. The first is to demonstrate the wireless transfer of power and data required for an implantable prosthesis. The second is to serve as a flexible stimulus waveform generator.

K. Vichienchom

Papers

An implantable neuro-stimulator device for a retinal prosthesis