Diamond Devices for High Acuity Prosthetic Vision

Arman Ahnood; Hamish Meffin; David J Garrett; Kate Fox; Kumaravelu Ganesan; Alastair Stacey; Nicholas V Apollo; Yan T Wong; Samantha G Lichter; William Kentler; Omid Kavehei; Ursula Greferath; Kirstan A Vessey; Michael R Ibbotson; Erica L Fletcher; Anthony N Burkitt; Steven Prawer

Journal article

Diamond Devices for High Acuity Prosthetic Vision

Arman Ahnood, Hamish Meffin, David J Garrett, Kate Fox, Kumaravelu Ganesan, Alastair Stacey, Nicholas V Apollo, Yan T Wong, Samantha G Lichter, William Kentler, Omid Kavehei, Ursula Greferath, Kirstan A Vessey, Michael R Ibbotson, Erica L Fletcher, Anthony N Burkitt, Steven Prawer

ADVANCED BIOSYSTEMS | WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH | Published : 2017

DOI: 10.1002/adbi.201600003

Abstract

Retinal implants restore a sense of vision, for a growing number of users worldwide. Nevertheless, visual acuities provided by the current generation of devices are low. The quantity of information transferable to the retina using existing implant technologies is limited, far below receptor cells' capabilities. Many agree that increasing the information density deliverable by a retinal prosthesis requires devices with stimulation electrodes that are both dense and numerous. This work describes a new generation of retinal prostheses capable of upscaling the information density conveyable to the retina. Centered on engineered diamond materials, the implant is very well tolerated and long-term ..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Arman Ahnood Author Physics

Steven Prawer Author Physics

Hamish Meffin Author Biomedical Engineering

Erica Fletcher Author Anatomy and Physiology

Una Greferath Author Anatomy and Physiology

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Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council (ARC) DECRA

Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)

Funding Acknowledgements

A.A. and H.M. contributed equally to this work. The authors wish to thank Tamara Brawn for her outstanding management of the BVA high acuity program, and Owen Burns for silicone mold and lead wire development. D.J.G. was supported by an Australian Research Council (ARC) DECRA grant DE130100922. N.V.A. was supported by an MMI-CSIRO materials science PhD scholarship. This research was supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC, Project Grant 585440) and the ARC through its Special Research Initiative (SRI) in Bionic Vision Science and Technology grant to the Bionic Vision Australia (BVA).