Biphasic Current Stimulator for Retinal Prosthesis

Abstract

Inherited retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) target the retina at the back of the eyes resulting in severe and permanent blindness in millions worldwide. Patients suffering from such diseases experience poor quality of life due to vision loss. Fortunately, while the photoreceptors are damaged, rendering the eyes incapable of detecting incident light, the inner retinal networks remain intact. Recent technological advancements attempt to restore vision by implanting microelectronic retinal prostheses to detect incident light and produce visual information by electrically stimulating the nerves in the remaining network. This chapter reviews recent works and seeks to shine a light on effective design strategies, considerations, and future directions for realizing efficient and safe high-spatial-resolution retinal prosthetic SoCs.