Modelling the visual response to an OUReP retinal prosthesis with photoelectric dye coupled to polyethylene film.

Abstract

<i>Objective.</i>Retinal prostheses have been developed to restore vision in blind patients suffering from diseases like retinitis pigmentosa.<i>Approach.</i>A new type of retinal prosthesis called the Okayama University-type retinal prosthesis (OUReP) was developed by chemically coupling photoelectric dyes to a polyethylene film surface. The prosthesis works by passively generating an electric potential when stimulated by light. However, the neurophysiological mechanism of how OUReP stimulates the degenerated retina is unknown.<i>Main results.</i>Here, we explore how the OUReP affects retinal tissues using a finite element model to solve for the potential inside the tissue and an active Hodgkin-Huxley model based on rat vision to predict the corresponding retinal bipolar response.<i>Significance.</i>We show that the OUReP is likely capable of eliciting responses in retinal bipolar cells necessary to generate vision under most ambient conditions.