An investigation of extraocular and intraocular wireless communication techniques on a retinal prosthesis system

Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) are two genetic ocular diseases that cause gradual visual impairments which will eventually lead to blindness as a result of damage in the retina. In the cases of people suffering from RP and AMD, it has been found out that 95% of the photoreceptors are damaged, while interestingly majority of the bipolar and ganglion cells that are responsible for the nerve stimulation remain intact. This is where a retinal prosthesis system comes into the picture. Retinal prosthesis is a prosthetic device that is aimed to assume the functionality of the damaged photoreceptors and produce stimulations to the bipolar and ganglion cells for a visual perception. Typically, a retinal prosthesis system comprises of two major components: an image capturing unit and an array of microelectrode. While a lot of studies have been conducted on each major component, the development of the wireless link between the two components has been mostly overlooked. It is clear that the two components are not physically connected and a data exchange is required between the two. This thesis aims to bridge the knowledge gap in this area by addressing the following research questions: “What is the most suitable frequency band for a wireless link in a retinal prosthesis system?” and “What kind of antenna would generate the most optimal performance under the constraints introduced by a retinal prosthesis system?” <br>