Early developments in prostheses to aid the visually impaired using electrical stimulation included attaching electrodes to the head or eyelids of patients. While there was some limited success, these early prosthetic devices were large, bulky and could not produce adequate simulated vision to truly aid the visually impaired.
Solution
The present invention leverages much smaller electronics and advancements in surgical techniques allowing the retinal prosthesis to be implanted directly into the retina - i.e. a bionic eye. The implant receives a signal from an external camera, usually mounted on sunglasses, which then stimulates photoreceptors in the eye. This improvement in the technology has led to partial restoration of sight for completely blind patients.
Abstract
The present invention is an improved package and configuration for an implantable retinal prosthesis. The retinal prosthesis of the present invention includes an electrode array suitable to be mounted in close proximity to a retina, an electronics package and inductive receiving coil mounted next to each other on a strap surrounding the sclera so that the height above the sclera of the prosthesis is minimized.
Independent Claims
The purpose of claims is to define which subject-matter is protected by the patent. Below are the independent claims for the retinal prosthesis and method of manufacturing a retinal prosthesis.
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