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Visual Prosthetics pp 301–315Cite as

Findings from Chronic Optic Nerve and Cortical Stimulation

Abstract

This chapter reviews the experiments that have produced visual sensations in humans through electrical stimulation of the central nervous system. Initially, surface stimulation of the visual cortex, provided insight into how electrical stimulation of V1 could possibly provide a visual prosthesis for the blind. Intracortical microstimulation was then investigated that would allow lower power stimulation and increased density of microelectrodes. The stimulation of the optic nerve has also been investigated as a possible site for a visual prosthesis.

The next section is dedicated to what is known and what needs to be done for the development of a visual prosthesis.

The following section examines current research efforts directed towards the development of a visual prosthesis. They include optic nerve stimulation, cortical surface stimulation and intracortical stimulation of visual cortex. The CORTIVIS Program is a comprehensive development of an intracortical visual prosthesis. The lateral geniculate nucleus is also being studied as a site for a visual prosthesis.

The final section of this chapter deals with the developments that are needed for a functional visual prosthesis. They include microelectrode arrays, stimulation hardware, and low power image sensing and processing circuitry that can control the stimulators.

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Abbreviations

2D:

Two dimensional

3D:

Three dimensional

EIC:

EIC laboratories

HMRI:

Huntington Medical Research Institute

ICMS:

Intracortical microstimulation

IIT:

Illinois Institute of Technology

LGN:

Lateral geniculate nucleus

MIPS:

Multimode digital image sensor

MIT:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

NIH:

National Institutes of Health

NY:

New York

UC:

University of Chicago

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA

    Edward M. Schmidt

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  1. Edward M. Schmidt
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Correspondence to Edward M. Schmidt .

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  1. , Lions Vision Research & Rehabilitation C, Johns Hopkins University School of Medic, 550 N. Broadway, Baltimore, 21205-2020, Maryland, USA

    Gislin Dagnelie

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Schmidt, E.M. (2011). Findings from Chronic Optic Nerve and Cortical Stimulation. In: Dagnelie, G. (eds) Visual Prosthetics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0754-7_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0754-7_15

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