Modelling the visual response to an OUReP retinal prosthesis with photoelectric dye coupled to polyethylene film

Abstract

Objective. Retinal prostheses have been developed to restore vision in blind patients suffering from diseases like retinitis pigmentosa. Approach. A new type of retinal prosthesis called the Okayama University-type retinal prosthesis (OUReP) was developed by chemically coupling photoelectric dyes to a polyethylene film surface. The prosthesis works by passively generating an electric potential when stimulated by light. However, the neurophysiological mechanism of how OUReP stimulates the degenerated retina is unknown. Main results. Here, we explore how the OUReP affects retinal tissues using a finite element model to solve for the potential inside the tissue and an active Hodgkin–Huxley model based on rat vision to predict the corresponding retinal bipolar response. Significance. We show that the OUReP is likely capable of eliciting responses in retinal bipolar cells necessary to generate vision under most ambient conditions.

Trends and Challenges of BCI-based Visual Prostheses

“…This type of approach is also used in other research groups in hope of developing cableless retinal protheses. One such example is the Okayama University-type retinal prosthesis (OUReP), which relies on photoelectric dyes on a polyethyl film to give off electric stimulation when light is received [6].…”