Electric stimulation of neurons and neural networks in retinal prostheses

Author

Schmid, Erich W. ; Fink, Wolfgang ; Wilke, Ralf

Author_Institution

Inst. of Theor. Phys., Eberhard Karls Univ., Tubingen, Germany

fYear

2013

fDate

6-8 Nov. 2013

Firstpage

1108

Lastpage

1111

Abstract

A computational model is presented that can be used as a tool in experimental research in retinal implants. In this model a target volume (i.e., a probe cylinder approximating a bipolar cell) in the retina is chosen, and the passive Heaviside cable equation is solved inside the target volume to calculate the depolarization of the cell membrane. The depolarization as a function of time indicates that shorter signals stimulate better, as long as the current does not change sign during stimulation of the retina. The model is equally applicable to epiretinal, subretinal, and suprachoroidal vision implants.

Keywords

bioelectric phenomena; biomembranes; eye; medical computing; neural nets; neurophysiology; physiological models; prosthetics; bipolar cell; cell membrane depolarization; computational model; electric stimulation; epiretinal vision implant; neural networks; neurons; passive Heaviside cable equation; probe cylinder; retinal prostheses; subretinal vision implant; suprachoroidal vision implant; target volume; Antennas; Electric potential; Electrodes; Equations; Mathematical model; Neurons; Retina;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Neural Engineering (NER), 2013 6th International IEEE/EMBS Conference on

Conference_Location

San Diego, CA

ISSN

1948-3546

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/NER.2013.6696131

Filename

6696131