Abstract
Neurostimulation has proved to be an effective method for the restoration of visual perception lost due to retinal diseases. However, the clinically available retinal neurostimulation method is based on invasive electrodes, making it a high-cost and high-risk procedure. Recently, ultrasound has been demonstrated to be an effective way to achieve noninvasive neurostimulation. In this work, a novel racing array transducer with a contact lens shape is proposed for ultrasonic retinal stimulation. The transducer is flexible and placed outside the eyeball, similar to the application of a contact lens. Ultrasound emitted from the transducer can reach the retina without passing through the lens, thus greatly minimizing the acoustic absorption in the lens. The discretized Rayleigh–Sommerfeld method was employed for the acoustic field simulation, and patterned stimulation was achieved. A 5 MHz racing array transducer with different element numbers was simulated to optimize the array configuration. The results show that a 512-element racing array is the most appropriate configuration considering the necessary tradeoff between the element number and the stimulation resolution. The stimulation resolution at a focus of 24 mm is about 0.6 mm. The obtained results indicate that the proposed racing array design of the ultrasound transducer can improve the feasibility of an ultrasound retinal prosthesis.
Highlights
Retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration can cause vision loss in people [1]
The resolutions at all of the coordinates were evaluated by setting a single focal point located at (0, 0, −12), which is where the posterior of the retina is located in the coordinate system
The resolution can be quantified by estimating the full-width at half maximum (FWHM) of the profile
Summary
Retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration can cause vision loss in people [1]. An implantable retinal prosthesis based on electrical retinal stimulation has been developed and applied for the restoration of vision in patients [2,3]. The patient has lost part of their sight, some neural cells in the retina remain alive and can be stimulated directly by electrodes attached to the retina [3,4]. A retinal prosthesis provides a feasible solution for visual restoration. The highly invasive procedure performed during the implantation surgery, makes the device high-cost and high-risk [5]. A noninvasive method for visual restoration is of great interest and strongly needed in society
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