080924 Suaning

The Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Freiburg

Announcement for the next

BCCN Seminar

Professor Dr. Ing. Gregg Suaning

"Australian Vision Prosthesis Group", Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering - Center for Implantable Bionics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Artificial Sight for the Blind through a Bionic Eye

The extraordinary success of the cochlear implant for the deaf can be directly attributed to the electrode-tissue interface created by placement of platinum electrodes within the cochlea. In this configuration, the distance between electrode and excitable neurons is regularly of the order of 0.5 mm or more, yet stimulation thresholds remain well below theoretical charge-injection limits of platinum, and patient outcomes with just 22 stimulation channels continue to impress even the most sceptical observers. The same may soon become true for the profoundly blind. This presentation will explore the history of vision prosthesis, identify the key factors that will determine its success, and illustrate the latest research being conducted in this field. Results from recent experimentation indicate that spatially-mapped phosphenes can be reliably and safely delivered by way of electrical stimulation of the retina through a new “supra-choroidal” approach that offers a number of advantages over other electrode placement methods in terms of safety, stability and biological compatibility.

Host: Sarah Jarvis