title: Fabrication and functional demonstration of a smart electrode with a built-in CMOS microchip for neural stimulation of a retinal prosthesis.
abstract: In this study, we propose an advanced architecture of a smart electrode for neural stimulation of a retinal prosthesis. A feature of the proposed architecture is embedding CMOS microchips into the core of the stimulus electrodes. Microchip integration without dead space on the array is possible. Additionally, higher durability can be expected because the microchips are protected by the stimulus electrodes like a metal casing. Dedicated circular-shaped CMOS microchips were designed and fabricated. The microchip measured 400 μm in diameter. Stimulus electrodes that had a microcavity for embedding the microchip were also fabricated. In the assembly process, the CMOS microchip was mounted on a flexible substrate, and then the stimulus electrode was mounted to cover the microchip. The microchip was completely built into the inside of the electrode. By performing an ex-vivo experiment using the extracted eyeball of a pig, stimulus function of the electrode was demonstrated successfully.
authors.forename: Toshihiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Noda
authors.forename: Takumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujisawa
authors.forename: Ryohei
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kawasaki
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tashiro
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takehara
authors.forename: Kiyotaka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sasagawa
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tokuda
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ohta
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D004867:Equipment Design; D008839:Microelectrodes; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D012160:Retina / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D012984:Software; D013552:Swine; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry; D057488:Visual Prosthesis
chemical_list: D014025:Titanium