Title :
Micromachined electrodes for high density neural stimulation systems
Author :
Hung, A. ; Zhou, D. ; Greenberg, R. ; Judy, J.W.
Author_Institution :
Biomed. Eng. IDP, California Univ., Los Angeles, CA, USA
Abstract :
High-resolution retinal prosthetic systems require high-density stimulation electrodes to restore the vision of blind patients suffering from retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration. Micromachining the surface of electrodes to obtain high aspect ratio features can tremendously increase the effective area of the electrode. A unique process has been developed to obtain high aspect ratio structures by plating on the sidewall of recently developed and insufficiently rinsed resist. A quadrupling of the effective area of the electrode surface has been achieved with modest micromachining and should translate into a similar improvement in visual resolution.
Keywords :
eye; microelectrodes; micromachining; neuromuscular stimulation; prosthetics; sensory aids; blind patients; electrode effective area; electrode surface area quadrupling; high aspect ratio features; high density neural stimulation systems; high-resolution retinal prosthetic systems; insufficiently rinsed resist plating; macular degeneration; micromachined electrodes; retinitis pigmentosa; surface micromachining; vision restoration; visual resolution; Biomedical electrodes; Biomedical engineering; Micromachining; Neural prosthesis; Photoreceptors; Pigmentation; Platinum; Prosthetics; Retina; Visual prosthesis;
Conference_Titel :
Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, 2002. The Fifteenth IEEE International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Las Vegas, NV, USA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-7185-2
DOI :
10.1109/MEMSYS.2002.984082
