Spatial restriction of neural activation using focused multipolar stimulation with a retinal prosthesis

Abstract

Purpose: The resolution provided by present state-of-the-art retinal prostheses is severely limiting for recipients, partly due to the broad spread of activation in the retina in response to monopolar (MP) electrical stimulation. Focused multipolar (FMP) stimulation has been shown to restrict neural activation in the cochlea compared to MP stimulation. We extended the FMP stimulation technique to a two-dimensional electrode array and compared its efficacy to MP and hexapolar (HP) stimulation in the retina. Methods: Normally-sighted cats (n = 6) were implanted with a suprachoroidal electrode array containing 42 electrodes. Multichannel multiunit spiking activity was recorded from the visual c..