Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants
Université de Sherbrooke
$191,826.00
High resolution retinal prothesis
FY 2018-19
Summary
The potential of neurostimulation to improve quality of life for many is now recognized. Pacemakers (cardiac arrhythmia), cochlear implants (deafness), brain stimulators (Parkinson's treatment) and chronic pain relief are well established examples in the medical community. Visual prostheses, aimed at restoring visual acuity in blind patients, are still in their early stages for many reasons. Among them, the neuronal structure (detection, integration and differentiation) at the retina level, the network at the cerebral level, eye motion, the concave surface of the retina, and poor understanding of stimulation strategies are all elements adding to the complexity of developing an effective retinal simulation implant.*Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) are the first pathologies targeted with retinal prostheses. In both cases, a dysfunction of rods and cones affects visual acuity, an impairment which will affect 200M people by 2020. The medical neuromodulation space is set to reach $25B. The growth of the ophthalmology sub-market is forecast at 98%, reaching $1B by 2022.*This project aims to develop, in collaboration with iBIONICS Inc, (Ottawa, Canada) and the participation of the University of Melbourne (Australia) and the University of Ottawa (Canada), the first generation of high acuity retinal prosthesis. The latter is based on a high-density neurostimulator comprising an integrated circuit, along with its ancillary electronics, encapsulated in a hermetic diamond package. Unlike other retinal prostheses relying on an inductive link for transmitting both the power and data, the proposed prosthesis is based on a laser beam combined with a pupil tracker, thus avoiding the eyeball motion problem and the need to run wires, breaching both the hermiticity of the biocompatible package and the eyewall itself. The flexible stimulator architecture will support any stimulation pattern thanks to a fully programmable approach, and can thus support future exploration of stimulation strategies, making the prosthesis a wonderful research tool, as well as an excellent choice for recovering vision for people with AMD or RP.
Program
Collaborative Research and Development Grants
Recipient
Location
Quebec, Canada
Recipient Type
Academia
Type
Grant
Source
NSERC's Awards Data
As published
Application id
530093-2018
Name nom
Fontaine, Réjean
Department département
Génie électrique et génie informatique
Organization id
68
Institution établissement
Université de Sherbrooke
Province en
Québec
Province fr
Québec
Country en
CANADA
Country fr
CANADA
Fiscal year exercice financier
2018
Competition year année de concours
2018
Award amount
191826
Program id
CRDPJ
Program name en
Collaborative Research and Development Grants
Program name fr
Subventions de recherche et développement coopérative
Group en
Research partnerships programs
Group fr
Programmes de partenariat
Committee code
96
Committee name en
RPP Internal Decision Cttee
Committee name fr
Cté de décision interne - PPR
Area of application code
515
Area of application group en
Manufacturing processes and products
Area of application group fr
Procédés et produits industriels
Area of application en
Instrumentation technology
Area of application fr
Technologie de l'instrumentation
Research subject code
2519
Research subject group en
Electrical and electronic engineering
Research subject group fr
Génie électrique et électronique
Research subject en
Microelectronics
Research subject fr
Microélectronique
Partie
1
Nb partie
1
Application title
High resolution retinal prothesis
Keyword
NSERC
Application summary
The potential of neurostimulation to improve quality of life for many is now recognized. Pacemakers (cardiac arrhythmia), cochlear implants (deafness), brain stimulators (Parkinson's treatment) and chronic pain relief are well established examples in the medical community. Visual prostheses, aimed at restoring visual acuity in blind patients, are still in their early stages for many reasons. Among them, the neuronal structure (detection, integration and differentiation) at the retina level, the network at the cerebral level, eye motion, the concave surface of the retina, and poor understanding of stimulation strategies are all elements adding to the complexity of developing an effective retinal simulation implant.*Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) are the first pathologies targeted with retinal prostheses. In both cases, a dysfunction of rods and cones affects visual acuity, an impairment which will affect 200M people by 2020. The medical neuromodulation space is set to reach $25B. The growth of the ophthalmology sub-market is forecast at 98%, reaching $1B by 2022.*This project aims to develop, in collaboration with iBIONICS Inc, (Ottawa, Canada) and the participation of the University of Melbourne (Australia) and the University of Ottawa (Canada), the first generation of high acuity retinal prosthesis. The latter is based on a high-density neurostimulator comprising an integrated circuit, along with its ancillary electronics, encapsulated in a hermetic diamond package. Unlike other retinal prostheses relying on an inductive link for transmitting both the power and data, the proposed prosthesis is based on a laser beam combined with a pupil tracker, thus avoiding the eyeball motion problem and the need to run wires, breaching both the hermiticity of the biocompatible package and the eyewall itself. The flexible stimulator architecture will support any stimulation pattern thanks to a fully programmable approach, and can thus support future exploration of stimulation strategies, making the prosthesis a wonderful research tool, as well as an excellent choice for recovering vision for people with AMD or RP.
