Simulations of Electrode Placement for a Thalamic Visual Prosthesis

In this paper, placement parameters for microstimulation electrodes in a visual prosthesis are evaluated based on retinotopic models of macaque and human lateral geniculate nucleus. Phosphene patterns were simulated for idealized microwire electrodes as well as for currently available clinical electrodes. For idealized microwire electrodes, spacing as large as 600 microm in three dimensions would allow for over 250 phosphenes per visual hemifield in macaques, and over 800 in humans.