Second Sight Medical Products, Inc.

Xcelerator Labs, LLC

Mark Humayan

Robert Jay Greenberg

James Singleton Little

Da-Yu Chang

Kevin Wilkin

Rajat N Agrawal

Richard P Williamson

Kelly Hobart McClure

Arup Roy

Matthew J McMahon

James David Weiland

Devyani Nanduri

Ralph Kerns

Matthew T Mccormick

The invention is a retinal implant device to stimulate a retina of an eye thereby producing a specific effect in the eye, such as a vision or drug treatment of a chronic condition. The retinal device is made of a retinal implant that is positioned subretinally and that contains a multitude of stimulation sites that are in contact with the retina. A connection carries a stimulating electrical signal or a drug. The connection passes transretinally through the retina and into a vitreous cavity of the eye, thereby minimizing damage to a nutrient-rich choroid. A lead is attached to a source of drugs or electrical energy, which is located outside the eye. The lead passes through a sclera at a point near a front of the eye to avoid damage to the retina.

Transretinal implant and method of manufacture

The present invention is a method of improving the persistence of electrical neural stimulation, and specifically a method of improving the persistence of an image supplied to a retina, or visual cortex, through a visual prosthesis. A continuously stimulated retina, or other neural tissue, will desensitize after a time period in the range of 20 to 150 seconds. However, an interruption of the stimulation on the order of a few milliseconds will restore the retinal sensitivity without the user perceiving the interruption, or with the user barely perceiving the interruption.

Neural stimulation for increased persistence

The present invention is an improved method of stimulating visual neurons to create artificial vision. It has been found that varying current of visual stimulation can create varying percept brightness, varying percept size, and varying percept shape. By determining the attributes of predetermined current levels, and using those attributes to program a video processor, more accurate video preproduction can be obtained. The present invention also includes an electrode array having alternating large and small electrodes in rows at a 45 degree angle to horizontal in the visual field.

Visual prosthesis for phosphene shape control

The present invention is an implantable electrode array having electrodes with variable pitch and variable size. Electrode arrays of the prior art provide electrodes with a common spacing and size. However, this is not how the human body is arranged. As an example, the retina has closely spaced retinal receptors near the fovea. Those receptors are spaced farther apart, farther away from the fovea. Further, the amount of electrical current required to stimulate the perception of light increases with distance from the fovea. Hence, larger electrodes are required to transfer the necessary current farther away from the fovea.

Variable pitch electrode array

A retinal prosthesis with an inductive coil mounted to the side of the eye by using a strap around the eye. This allows for close coupling to an external coil and movement of the entire implanted portion with movement of the eye ball.

Retinal prosthesis with side mounted inductive coil

The invention is a retinal prosthesis with an inductive coil mounted to the side of the eye by means of a strap around the eye. This allows for close coupling to an external coil and movement of the entire implanted portion with movement of the eye ball.

A retinal implant device to stimulate a retina of an eye thereby producing a specific effect in an eye, such as vision or drug treatment of a chronic condition is described. The retinal device is made of a retinal implant that is positioned subretinally and that contains a multitude of stimulation sites that are in contact with the retina. A connection carries the stimulating electrical signal or drug. The connection passes transretinally through the retina and into the vitreous cavity of the eye, thereby minimizing damage to the nutrient-rich choroid. The lead is attached to a source of drugs or electrical energy, which is located outside the eye. The lead passes through the sclera at a point near the front of the eye to avoid damage to the retina.

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Glendale, CA, United States of America

Mark Humayan