Spatial Visual Perceptions by Means of Simulated Prosthetic Vision

Abstract

Visual prostheses electrically stimulate nearby neurons to generate artificial vision in patients blinded by retinal degenerative diseases. Despite some notable progress in the generation of small dot-like percepts induced by electrical stimulation, the physical aspects of phosphenes demand a better understanding. This present work is part of the feasibility assessment of the activation area introduced elsewhere used for estimating the size and shape of the phosphenes elicited by electrical stimulation. Electrical stimulation of retinal ganglion cells was simulated in a realistic 3D reconstruction of the retina. To ensure cell activation, the dynamics of the ionic channels in cell were considered. Visual perceptions elicited by stimulating electrodes reported by Klauke et al. 2011 in clinical trials were directly compared with our simulation framework. The wide range of visual responses formerly described by subjects is highly correlated with our simulation-based findings. Prior to device implantation, simulation-based findings of the activation area can be advantageous to comprehend the physical aspects of phosphenes and to develop an electrode array for generating spatially-localized perception of light.