Article
Transparent 3D microelectrodes with high resolution for sub-retinal stimulation
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Published: | December 10, 2019 |
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Objective: Various microelectrodes included in retinal prosthetic devices have been developed to replace damaged retinal cells. To stimulate remaining retinal cells more effectively, we present 3D microelectrode arrays for a subretinal device.
Methods: The 3D microelectrodes were fabricated using micro-electro-mechanical system technologies. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was used as a substrate of electrodes to realize the flexible and transparent electrode array. To obtain a 3D electrode shape with high resolution, dry and wet etching processes were performed such as deep reactive ion etching and HNA etching in addition to dicing.
Results: The microelectrodes consisting of 16 pixels to 64 pixels were fabricated, supported by 150 μm-thick PDMS. The fabricated 3D microelectrodes were further assembled with an integrated circuit (IC) to stimulate retinal cells.
Discussion: Transparent 3D microelectrode arrays have been developed and 16-pixel microelectrodes have been tested to demonstrate the stimulation capacity in in-vitro subretinal setup. To evaluate the stimulation performance and biocompatibility, more experiments in in-vitro and in-vivo environments will be performed as a further study.
Acknowledgement: This work was supported by the Bio & Medical Technology Development Program of the National Research Foundation funded by the Korean government (No. NRF-2017M3A9E2056463).