C-Sight Visual Prostheses for the Blind

Visual prostheses based on a stimulating microelectrode array to restore vision offer a promising approach for the blind and has become a rapidly growing scientific field in neurorehabilitation engineering. A number of research groups from major developed countries lead the research activities in this field. The goal of the C-Sight Project is to develop an implantable microelectronic medical device that will restore useful vision to blind patients. Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration are the two leading causes for blindness, for which there have been no effective treatments, both surgically and biologically, until now.The ultimate goal of our project is to develop a completely implantable visual prosthesis based on a penetrating microelectrode array at the optical nerve; to implement this, it requires many technical advances. However, in our study, an implantable microcamera, the wearable information processor, and the multichannel neurostimulator are investigated. Electrophysiological experiments were also performed to provide evidence for the feasibility of our approach. Some related psychophysical studies including simulated phosphene positioning and recognition of pixelized images are also reported in this article.