Visual sensations produced by optic nerve stimulation using an implanted self-sizing spiral cuff electrode.

C. Veraart , C. Raftopoulos , J. T. Mortimer , J. Delbeke , D. Pins (1) , G. Michaux (2, 3) , A. Vanlierde , S. Parrini , M. C. Wanet-Defalque

1 LNFP - Laboratoire de Neurosciences Fonctionnelles et Pathologies
2 IGBMC - Institut de génétique et biologie moléculaire et cellulaire
3 Institut Universitaire des systemes Thermiques Industriels - UMR 6595

A blind volunteer with retinitis pigmentosa was chronically implanted with a self-sizing spiral cuff electrode around an optic nerve. Electrical stimuli applied to the nerve produced localized visual sensations that were broadly distributed throughout the visual field and could be varied by changing the stimulating conditions. These results demonstrate the potential for constructing a visual prosthesis, based on electrical stimulation of the optic nerve, for blind subjects who have intact retinal ganglion cells.

Domaines: Neurosciences [q-bio.NC]

C. Veraart, C. Raftopoulos, J. T. Mortimer, J. Delbeke, D. Pins, et al.. Visual sensations produced by optic nerve stimulation using an implanted self-sizing spiral cuff electrode.. Brain Research, 1998, 813 (1), pp.181-6. ⟨hal-00331973⟩