Xu Chenlin, Lu Gengxi, Kang Haochen, Humayun Mark S, Zhou Qifa
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
USC Roski Eye Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
Micromachines (Basel). 2022 Sep 16;13(9):1536. doi: 10.3390/mi13091536.
Argus II retinal prosthesis is the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved medical device intended to restore sight to a patient's blind secondary to retinal degeneration (i.e., retinitis pigmentosa). However, Argus II and most reported retinal prostheses require invasive surgery to implant electrodes in the eye. Recent studies have shown that focused ultrasound can be developed into a non-invasive retinal prosthesis technology. Ultrasound energy focused on retinal neurons can trigger the activities of retinal neurons with high spatial-temporal resolution. This paper introduces a novel design and simulation of a ring array transducer that could be used as -invasive ultrasonic retinal stimulation. The array transducer is designed in the shape of a racing ring with a hemisphere surface that mimics a contact lens to acoustically couple with the eye via the tear film and directs the ultrasound to avoid the high acoustic absorption from the crystalline lens. We will describe the design methods and simulation of the two-dimensional pattern stimulation. Finally, compared with other existing retinal prostheses, we show that the ultrasound ring array is practical and safe and could be potentially used as a -invasive retinal prosthesis.
阿格斯II型视网膜假体是美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）批准的医疗器械，旨在恢复因视网膜变性（即色素性视网膜炎）而失明患者的视力。然而，阿格斯II型以及大多数已报道的视网膜假体需要通过侵入性手术将电极植入眼睛。最近的研究表明，聚焦超声可以发展成为一种非侵入性视网膜假体技术。聚焦于视网膜神经元的超声能量能够以高时空分辨率触发视网膜神经元的活动。本文介绍了一种新型环形阵列换能器的设计与模拟，该换能器可用于非侵入性超声视网膜刺激。阵列换能器设计成赛车环形，其半球形表面模仿隐形眼镜，通过泪膜与眼睛进行声学耦合，并引导超声波以避免晶状体的高声吸收。我们将描述二维图案刺激的设计方法和模拟。最后，与其他现有的视网膜假体相比，我们表明超声环形阵列实用且安全，有可能用作非侵入性视网膜假体。
