Sputtered Iridium Oxide as Electrode Material for Subretinal Stimulation

Jonas Haas,Maximilian Becker,Renate Daschner,Alfred Stett,Ralf Rudorf,Anna Drzyzga,Claus Burkhardt

doi:10.18494/sam.2020.2903

Abstract

Sputtered Iridium Oxide as Electrode Material for Subretinal Stimulation

Highlights

Individuals who have lost their vision due to illness or other events have the opportunity to regain a small portion of their visual functions with visual prostheses.[1]
We present the development and implementation of a sputtered iridium oxide films (SIROF) material that has been used for the subretinal stimulation in humans using microelectrodes fabricated on the CMOS chip of the RETINA IMPLANT Alpha AMS.[13]. This Conformité Européenne (CE)marked medical device has been used for several years in clinical studies[14,15] and in every day life.[16]. Starting with microelectrode arrays (MEAs) for developing the sputter process and investigating the electrochemical and morphological properties, the process is implemented into the fabrication routine of the retinal prosthesis
We have presented the fabrication of the SIROF, which has been used clinically as the stimulation electrode material for several years in the subretinal implant RETINA IMPLANT Alpha AMS

Summary

Introduction

Individuals who have lost their vision due to illness or other events have the opportunity to regain a small portion of their visual functions with visual prostheses.[1]. All visual prostheses have one essential component in common: The stimulation electrodes provide the functional interface between the human body and the prosthesis. They pass the stimulating current into the surrounding neural tissue in order to evoke visual perception. Owing to their direct contact with retinal or brain tissue, they need to fulfill several requirements, such as biocompatibility as well as stability in biological environments over a long period of time. The electrochemical properties of the material should ensure the efficient and safe charge injection from the electrode into the tissue. The material should offer low impedance to reduce power consumption,(3) high charge storage capacity (CSC), as well as high charge injection capacity (CIC)

Methods

Results

Conclusion