The Retinal Readout System: a status report

The “Retinal Readout System” is being developed to study the language the eye uses to send information about the visual world to the brain. Its architecture is based on that of silicon microstrip detectors. An array of 512 microscopic electrodes picks up the signals generated by the output neurons of live retinal tissue in response to a dynamic image focused on the input neurons. These signals are amplified, filtered and multiplexed by a set of eight custom-designed VLSI readout chips, and digitized and recorded by a data acquisition system. This report describes the goals, design, and status of the system.