An Intraocular Camera for Retinal Prostheses

Blindness due to degenerative retinal diseases such as Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) afflict millions of people worldwide. Recent advances in retinal implants that bypass damaged photoreceptor cells and electrically stimulate the remaining healthy retinal neurons show promise for restoring functional vision to the blind [1]. Current intraocular retinal prostheses driven by an external camera mounted on the subject’s head require slow and unnatural head movements. To allow for normal foveation and expanded depth of field, a novel intraocular camera (IOC) has been designed to work in conjunction with an epiretinal microstimulator array, as shown schematically in Fig. 1.