JP2011160984A - Visual sense regeneration assisting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a visual sense regeneration assisting apparatus allowing an intracorporeal device to be appropriately set in an eyeball if an electronic circuit of the intracorporeal device is enlarged according to the increase of the number of electrodes and addition of functions. <P>SOLUTION: The visual sense regeneration assisting apparatus includes: a base board having a plurality of stimulation electrodes for applying electric stimulation to the retina, lead wires connected to the respective electrodes, and a curved surface with a curvature radius along the eyeball; the electronic circuit for controlling the electric stimulation pulses to be transmitted to the stimulation electrodes; a placing base which is formed of metal with biocompatibility, with the electronic circuit joined to the upper surface and the base board joined to the lower surface, and whose lower surface is along the curved surface of the eyeball; a lid member formed of a metal material with biocompatibility and formed with the curvature radius along the intraocular curved surface for sealing the electronic circuit; and a wiring member made of a biocompatible and insulating material, circularly formed along the outer periphery of the placing base and the lid member, and having a conductive member for electrically connecting the lead wires and the electronic circuit. The electronic circuit is hermetically sealed by an air-tight case. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a visual reproduction assisting device for reproducing the vision of a patient.

  In recent years, as one of the blindness treatment techniques, an in-vivo device having a substrate on which a plurality of stimulation electrodes (hereinafter referred to as electrodes) is formed is implanted in the body, and the cells constituting the retina are electrically stimulated to attempt visual reproduction. Research on visual reproduction assist devices has been conducted. As such a visual reproduction auxiliary device, for example, an image captured using an extracorporeal device is converted into a predetermined signal and transmitted to an in-vivo device installed in the body, and an electrical stimulation pulse signal is output from the electrode. Devices that attempt to regenerate vision by electrically stimulating cells constituting the retina are known.

  Also, in such a device, the power and the information for electrical stimulation sent from the extracorporeal device are received by the in-vivo device, and based on them, the electrical stimulation pulse signal is output from each of the electrodes, and the retina is configured. Electrically stimulate the cells For this reason, the in-vivo device receives a power and information by being electrically connected to the stimulation unit installed in the stimulation site such as the eyeball and the stimulation unit via a lead, and sends a signal to the stimulation unit It is set as the structure provided with.

  In addition, an electronic circuit such as an integrated circuit implanted in a living body is in direct contact with the living body, causing an invasion of a body fluid into the circuit and adversely affecting the function of the circuit. A device for protecting the electronic circuit is devised. For example, a technique is known in which an electronic circuit is placed in a cube-shaped airtight case made of metal, etc., terminals such as input and output connected to the circuit are left outside, and the case is sealed (hermetic sealing) and implanted in a living body. (See Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-55000 A

  In such a visual reproduction auxiliary device, in order to further increase the resolution of visual reproduction, it is required to increase the number of electrodes of the stimulation unit. However, as the number of electrodes increases, the circuit configuration becomes complicated and the electronic circuit becomes larger, and the airtight case for sealing it must also be increased. Even if the number of electrodes is not increased, when the electrical control conventionally performed by an extracorporeal device is performed on the intracorporeal device side installed on the eyeball, the circuit configuration becomes complicated and the electronic circuit becomes larger. End up. However, when the airtight case of the prior art is simply enlarged along with the increase in size of the electronic circuit, it becomes difficult to stably install it along the intraocular shape having a curved surface.

  In view of the above-described problems of the prior art, the present invention can suitably install an in-vivo device on the eyeball even if the electronic circuit provided in the in-vivo device increases in size due to an increase in the number of electrodes used for visual reproduction or addition of functions. It is a technical problem to provide a visual reproduction assisting device.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is characterized by having the following configuration.

(1) A substrate on which a plurality of stimulation electrodes for applying electrical stimulation to cells constituting the retina and lead wires connected to each of the plurality of electrodes are formed in a visual reproduction assisting device that reproduces the vision of a patient A substrate having a curved surface shape with a radius of curvature along the eyeball shape, an electronic circuit for controlling an electrical stimulation pulse to be sent to the stimulation electrode, and a metal material having biocompatibility. A mounting table in which the circuit is mounted on the upper surface side and the lower surface side is bonded to the substrate, and at least the lower surface has a shape that follows the curved shape of the eyeball, and the eye is made of a biocompatible metal material. A lid member for sealing the electronic circuit formed on the mounting table and having a radius of curvature along the curved surface shape, and the mounting table and the cover using a material having biocompatibility and insulation Along the outer periphery of the member A wiring member formed in a ring shape and having a conductive member for electrically connecting the lead wire and the electronic circuit, and the outer peripheral portion of the mounting table and the lid member The electronic circuit is hermetically sealed by an airtight case formed by joining the wiring member and the wiring member.
(2) The visual reproduction assisting device according to (1), wherein the mounting table and the lid member are formed of titanium, a titanium alloy, or stainless steel.
(3) In the visual reproduction assisting device according to (2), the wiring member is formed of ceramics.
(4) In the visual reproduction assisting device according to (1) to (3), a joint surface of the wiring member with the installation base and the lid member is formed into a flat surface, and is provided on an outer periphery of the installation base and the lid member. Is characterized in that a flat collar is formed for joining with the joint surface of the wiring member.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, even if the electronic circuit provided in an in-vivo apparatus enlarges with the increase in the number of electrodes used for visual reproduction | regeneration, and function addition, an in-vivo apparatus can be suitably installed in an eyeball.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an external appearance of a visual reproduction assisting device, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an in-vivo device in the visual reproduction assisting device used in the embodiment. The visual reproduction assisting device 1 includes an extracorporeal device 10 for photographing the outside world and an in-vivo device 20 that applies electrical stimulation to cells constituting the retina and promotes visual reproduction. The extracorporeal device 10 includes a visor 11 worn by a patient, an imaging device 12 including a CCD camera attached to the visor 11, an external device 13, a transmission unit 14 including a primary coil, and the like.

  The external device 13 is provided with a pulse signal conversion means 13a having an arithmetic processing circuit such as a CPU, and a battery 13b for supplying power to the visual reproduction assisting device 1 (external device 10 and internal device 20). The pulse signal conversion means 13a performs image processing on the subject image photographed by the photographing device 12 and converts it into electrical stimulation pulse data for reproducing vision. The transmitting unit 14 transmits (wirelessly transmits) the electrical stimulation pulse data converted by the pulse signal converting unit 13a and the power for driving the in-vivo device 20 described later to the in-vivo device 20 side as electromagnetic waves. In addition, a magnet 15 is attached to the center of the transmission unit 14 to improve the data transmission efficiency of the transmission unit 14 and to fix the position with the reception unit 23 described later. The spectacle-shaped visor 11 is used by being worn in front of the patient's eyes. A subject to be visually recognized by the patient is photographed by the photographing device 12 attached to the front surface of the visor 11.

  The in-vivo device 20 shown in FIG. 2A is formed with a receiving unit 20a including a receiving means 23 including a secondary coil that receives electromagnetic waves from the extracorporeal device 10, an indifferent electrode 26, and a plurality of electrodes 27. The stimulation unit 20b includes a substrate 21 and an airtight case 100 on which an electronic circuit 40 is mounted, and a cable 22 for connecting the reception unit 20a and the stimulation unit 20b (substrate 21) within the eye. Note that a magnet (not shown) is disposed in the receiving means 23 and is used for fixing the magnet 15 of the external device 10.

  The electrodes 27 of the stimulating portion 20b are formed at the ends of the lead wires 21a formed on the substrate 21 with a material having conductivity excellent in biocompatibility and corrosion resistance such as gold and platinum. Thereby, each electrode 27 is individually connected to the electronic circuit 40. For example, as shown in FIG. 2A, a plurality of electrodes 27 are arranged in a matrix at equal intervals along the longitudinal direction of the substrate 21, or are alternately arranged two-dimensionally at equal intervals. Thus, a plurality of electrodes are formed to form an electrode array. The number of electrodes 27 is determined according to the resolution at the time of visual reproduction, but in order to increase the resolution, it is preferable that the number of electrodes 27 is as large as possible. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the electrode 27 is formed as many as about 10 to several hundreds. Further, if there is no problem in the electrode installation space and the wiring technology, there may be more than that.

  The substrate 21 is formed of a highly biocompatible resin such as polyimide so that it can be bent at a predetermined thickness. Note that the base portion of the substrate 21 of the present embodiment is formed so that the above-described electrode 27 is formed in a long plate shape, and the joining position with the airtight case 100 described later substantially matches the shape of the airtight case 100. Has been. In addition, the shape of the board | substrate 21 in a joining position with the airtight case 100 is not restricted to this, What is necessary is just to be formed in a size large enough to mount the airtight case 100 whole.

  A plurality of lead wires 21 a are wired on the substrate 21. The wiring of the substrate 21 is a lead shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B by depositing a corrosion-resistant metal material on the base portion using a well-known photoresist method, vacuum deposition method, sputtering method or the like. A conductive layer to be the line 21a is formed. After the formation of the conductive layer, the mask is removed, and an insulating layer having a predetermined thickness is formed by coating or pasting so as to cover the conductive layer. As a material used for an insulating layer, insulating materials, such as a highly biocompatible polyimide and parylene, can be used, for example. In addition, a hole is made in the insulating layer at the end position of the formed lead wire 21a by a technique such as RIE (reactive ion etching) to expose the end of the lead wire 21a, and an electrode material is laminated (evaporated) on the electrode. 27, an electrical junction between the electronic circuit 40 and the substrate 21 is formed. If a plurality of lead wires 21a are to be wired three-dimensionally due to the large number of electrodes 27, a three-dimensional wiring can be formed by performing these steps a plurality of times.

  In the present embodiment, since the airtight case 100 has a curved shape along the eyeball, the region where the airtight case 100 is attached also on the substrate 21 is a curved shape matching the airtight case 100 (eyeball shape). Keep it as When the predetermined region of the substrate 21 has a curved shape, the resin substrate is kept soft at a temperature (for example, about 100 ° C. to 300 ° C.) that is easily deformed without thermal decomposition, and the substrate 21 has a predetermined curvature. It is bent and shaped by pressing it against a mold having a curved surface of the eyeball. The substrate 21 is preferably molded in a vacuum atmosphere or an inert gas atmosphere in order to prevent deterioration due to heat.

  The electronic circuit 40 is a circuit that separates electrical stimulation pulse data and electric power contained in the electromagnetic wave received by the receiving means 23, and receives electrical stimulation pulses and a multiplexer control signal for obtaining vision based on the electrical stimulation pulse data. And a circuit for outputting an electrical stimulation pulse (stimulation current) for stimulating a cell constituting the retina from each electrode 27 based on the conversion circuit for obtaining the electrical stimulation pulse signal and the multiplexer control signal. The electronic circuit 40 is formed on a known flexible printed circuit board (hereinafter simply referred to as a printed circuit board) 42 formed of a flexible material (polyimide or the like) (see FIG. 3).

  Here, the schematic diagram of the cross section of the airtight case 100 vicinity of the stimulation part 20b is shown in FIG. In the airtight case 100, a printed circuit board 42 is placed on one surface (upper surface) and the substrate 21 is bonded to the other surface (lower surface), and an electronic circuit 40 placed on the placement table 110. A lid member 130 for hermetically sealing (hermetic seal) and a wiring member 120 for electrically connecting the electronic circuit 40 and the lead wire 21a (electrode 27) disposed on the substrate 21. .

  The mounting table 110 is formed in a disk shape having a curved surface with a predetermined radius of curvature (for example, 12 mm) along the curved surface of the eyeball. In addition, a flat (flat) flange 111 is formed on the outer periphery of the mounting table 110 and can be bonded to the bonding surface of the wiring member 120 without any gap. The lid member 130 is large enough to cover the mounting table 110 from above, and is formed in a disk shape having a curved surface with a radius of curvature along the eyeball, similar to the mounting table 110. Further, a flat (flat) flange 131 is formed on the outer periphery of the lid member 110 and can be joined to the joint surface of the wiring member 120 without a gap. As described above, the mounting table 110 and the lid member 130 are formed in a curved shape along the eyeball shape, so that the substrate 21 can be suitably placed along the eyeball.

  The mounting table 110 and the lid member 130 are made of a metal material that is biocompatible and highly airtight. For example, it is formed of titanium, titanium alloy (for example, titanium aluminum alloy, titanium barium alloy, etc.), stainless steel, platinum, gold or the like. By using such a metal material, the thickness of each member can be reduced to, for example, about 0.1 mm to 0.4 mm while maintaining the required strength. In addition, what is necessary is just to use methods, such as a well-known sheet metal process and press work, when forming the curved-surface shape which the mounting base 110 and the cover member 130 have using such a metal material.

  The wiring member 120 is formed of oxide ceramics (for example, alumina) that has insulation and gas tightness with respect to gas and moisture (low permeability) and has biocompatibility. In addition, the wiring member 120 may be formed of a ceramic material such as glass ceramics. The wiring member 120 is electrically connected to the pattern wiring terminals of the electronic circuit 40 placed inside the hermetic case 100 and the lead wires 21a (electrodes 27) wired outside the hermetic case 100. A plurality of conducting members 121 are formed at predetermined intervals along the shape of the wiring member 120 (so that adjacent conducting members 121 do not overlap each other). Although a detailed description will be given later, the conductive member 121 is a conductive layer (not shown) formed inside the wiring member 120 in order to electrically connect the vias 121a and 120b and the vias 121a and 120b. (See FIG. 3). Further, the wiring member 120 is joined between the outer peripheral portion of the mounting table 110 and the outer peripheral portion of the lid member 130, and is formed in an annular shape, for example, along the outer periphery of the mounting table 110 and the lid member 130. The

  Here, a method of forming the wiring member 120 will be described. The wiring member 120 can be produced by an existing molding technique of fine ceramics (new ceramics). First, a plate-like layer (green sheet) is formed using alumina powder. And in order to form the conductive layer which connects via | veer 121a and via | veer 121b, the paste by a conductive material is printed on the surface of a green sheet by a well-known method. Next, the green sheet is cut by known laser irradiation or the like to obtain a plurality of annular layers. Then, a plurality of through holes for forming the vias 121a and 121b are formed in the thickness direction of each annular layer. The through hole can be formed by punching, micro drilling, laser irradiation, or the like. Here, a plurality of through holes having a diameter of about 100 to 200 μm are formed along an annular shape. Next, the plurality of annular layers are stacked so that the through-holes coincide with each other, thereby forming a layer 120 a on the side connected to the mounting table 120 and a layer 120 b on the side connected to the lid member 130. In the present embodiment, the layer 120a and the layer 120b are once separately formed and then integrated to form the entire wiring member 120 (see FIG. 3). Therefore, the aforementioned conductive layer is positioned on at least one of the connection surfaces of the layers 120a and 120b. In addition, when forming the layer 120a, the groove | channel fitted to the collar part 111 of the mounting base 110 is formed by using the cyclic | annular layer from which an internal diameter differs.

  The number of through holes formed in the layers 120a and 120b is such that the corresponding vias 121a and vias 121b are connected when the wiring member 120 is formed by integrating the layers 120a and 120b. And may be formed at the position. At this time, the via 121a and the via 121b are electrically connected to each other by printing the conductive layer in a shape to which the corresponding through hole is connected.

  In the present embodiment, the through hole formed in the layer 120a is formed at a position where one end of the via 121a is on the substrate 21 side (outside of the airtight case 100) when the groove and the flange 111 are fitted. Is done. On the other hand, the through hole formed in the layer 120b is a space in which one end of the via 121b is formed by the mounting table 110 and the lid member 130 when the lid member 130 and the wiring member 120 are connected (the airtight case 100). It is formed so as to be located inside. As a result, the terminal of the electronic circuit 40 and the via 121b are electrically connected via the conducting member 121 (see FIG. 3).

  Next, the through hole is filled with a conductive material for forming the via 121a and the via 121b. As the conductive material, a known material in which one or a plurality of silver, tungsten, molybdenum, or the like is mixed is used as the base material. When the through hole is filled with the conductive material, the layers 120a and 120b are arranged so that the corresponding through holes of the layer 120a and the layer 120b are electrically connected to each other through the conductive layer. And it hardens by baking by the high temperature heating by a well-known furnace. Thereby, the wiring member 120 which has the conduction | electrical_connection member 121 inside is formed.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the planar (flat) wiring member 120 can be easily formed and a desired number of conductive members 121 can be formed using a known method. Although detailed description will be given later, the wiring member 120 is formed flat so that the electronic circuit 40 and the lead wire 21a can be easily connected by the same method (flip chip mounting) as in the prior art. Become.

  Next, the formation method of the stimulation part 20b provided with the airtight case 100 provided with the above structures is demonstrated. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a method for creating the stimulation unit 20b. First, as illustrated in FIG. 4A, the printed circuit board 42 in which the electronic circuit 40 is incorporated is mounted on the mounting table 110. At this time, the flexible printed circuit board 42 bends along the curved surface of the mounting table 110, and the electronic circuit 40 is positioned following the curved surface. Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, the groove formed in the wiring member 120 is fitted into the flange 111 of the mounting table 110. In this state, the terminal portion of the electronic circuit 40 (terminal portion of the printed circuit board 42) and the end surface of the conductive member 121 positioned on the space side formed by the mounting table 110 and the lid member 130 (directly or indirectly). In general, it is connected by a known welding method such as soldering. Thereby, the conducting member 121 and the electronic circuit 40 are electrically connected via the printed circuit board 42.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4C, the lid member 130 is attached to the upper surface of the wiring member 120. Then, the mounting table 110 and the wiring member 120, and the lid member 130 and the wiring member 120 are joined. Here, it is assumed that seam joining (welding) is performed by tracing the connection position of each member while heating and pressing with a roller (not shown). It should be noted that each member is connected in an inert gas (argon or nitrogen gas) atmosphere. For example, argon is used as the inert gas. As a result, the internal space of the hermetic case 100 is filled with argon.

  By joining the respective members as described above, the hermetic case 100 for hermetic sealing of the electronic circuit 40 is formed, and the electronic circuit 40 is sealed and protected from the outside. In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, the conduction | electrical_connection member 121 and the cable 22 of the wiring member 120 are joined. The tip of the cable 22 is brought into contact with the conducting member 121 and joined at high temperature and pressure. The metal-to-metal cable 22 and the conducting member 121 are firmly joined.

  Next, bumps 122 are formed on the end portion of the conductive member 121 located outside the airtight case 100 using a metal having biocompatibility such as gold using an existing technique. Then, as shown in FIG. 4D, the bumps 122 and the exposed portions (end portions) of the lead wires 21a formed on the substrate 21 are aligned and brought into contact with each other. At this time, since the substrate 21 is formed in a curved surface that conforms to the shape of the hermetic case 100, the hermetic case 100 and the substrate 21 are easily adhered and joined. Thereafter, each bump 122 and the lead wire 21 are electrically connected by welding by a known flip chip mounting. The gap between the hermetic case 100 and the substrate 21 can be filled by filling with a biocompatible epoxy resin. Note that, in the bonding between the airtight case 100 and the substrate 21, the bump 122 is formed on the airtight case 100 side, but the present invention is not limited to this. Bumps may be formed on the exposed lead wires 21a of the substrate 21.

  After the above series of joining, the entire airtight case 100 and the substrate 21 other than the electrode 27 are embedded with a highly biocompatible resin (silicone, parylene, polyimide with high biocompatibility, etc.). By embedding with resin, the airtight case 100 and the substrate 21 are integrated, and the electronic circuit 40 is suitably sealed.

  In the intracorporeal device 20 having the above-described configuration, a part of the substrate 21 on which the electrode 27 is formed is located in a scleral pocket formed in the sclera E3 of the patient's eye E, as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the remaining part of the substrate 21 and the airtight case 100 are arranged along the curved surface of the eyeball (sclera). Thereby, the whole stimulation part 20b will be stably installed in the eye. In the present embodiment, the cells constituting the retina E1 are electrically stimulated from the sclera side (choroid side), but the present invention is not limited to this. It is only necessary that the electrode can be installed at a position where cells constituting the retina of the patient's eye can be suitably stimulated. For example, the internal device is placed in the eye (on the retina or under the retina) of the patient's eye E, and the tip of the substrate on which the electrode is formed is placed under the retina (between the retina and choroid) or on the retina. It can also be. In this case, the shape of the airtight case and the substrate portion on which the airtight case is placed may be set to a shape along the curved surface of the retina. The substrate 21 may be fixedly held on the sclera E3 with, for example, a tack or an adhesive with high biocompatibility. Similarly, the airtight case 100 may be positioned more stably in the eye by fixing the attachment position by sewing or the like.

  Next, an operation for visual reproduction of the visual reproduction auxiliary device having the above-described configuration will be described based on the block diagram of the control system shown in FIG. The photographing data (image data) of the subject photographed by the photographing device 12 is sent to the pulse signal conversion means 13a. The pulse signal conversion means 13a converts the photographed subject into a signal (electric stimulation pulse data) within a predetermined band necessary for the patient to visually recognize, and transmits it as an electromagnetic wave from the transmission means 14 to the in-vivo device 20 side. . At the same time, the pulse signal conversion means 13a converts the power supplied from the battery 13b into a signal (power) in a band different from the band of the signal (electric stimulation pulse data) described above, and combines it with the electrical stimulation pulse data as an electromagnetic wave. To the internal device 20 side. On the internal device 20 side, the electrical stimulation pulse data and power sent from the external device 10 are received by the receiving means 23 and sent to the electronic circuit 40. The electronic circuit 40 extracts a signal in a band used by the electrical stimulation pulse data from the received signal. Further, the electronic circuit 40 generates an electrical stimulation pulse distributed to each electrode 27 and a multiplexer control signal for controlling the electrical stimulation pulse distribution based on the extracted electrical stimulation pulse data. The electric stimulation pulse (stimulation current) is output from each electrode 27 by being distributed to each of the plurality of electrodes 27. The cells constituting the retina are stimulated by the electrical stimulation pulse output from each electrode 27, and the patient obtains vision. In addition, the retina of a patient comes to be stimulated more precisely by forming more electrodes 27 on the substrate 21 with the above configuration.

  As described above, the installation surface of the airtight case 100 is formed in a shape having a radius of curvature that conforms to the curved surface in the eye, so that the entire stimulation unit 20b is intraocularly regardless of the size of the airtight case 100. And can be used stably for a long period of time.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the airtight case 100 is formed in a disk shape having a predetermined radius of curvature has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in the modified example of the stimulation part 20b in FIG. 7, the airtight case 100 may be formed in a rectangular shape as long as it has a curved surface having a predetermined radius of curvature in the direction along the eye. In this case, the substrate 21 is also formed in a rectangular shape that matches the shape of the airtight case 100. If it does in this way, according to the number of the electrodes 27, the installation area of the irritation | stimulation part 20b in eyes can be decreased, and a patient's burden can be reduced more.

  In addition, as shown in the second modification of the stimulation unit 20 b in FIG. 8, the conduction member 121 may be formed in a plurality of rows along the shape of the wiring member 120. In this way, more conductive members 121 are formed, so that it is possible to cope with a case where the number of electrodes 27 is further increased. In this case, each conductive member 121 may be formed at a position where the formation positions do not overlap.

  In the in-vivo device 20 having the above-described configuration, the reference electrode 26 is formed integrally with the stimulation unit 20b, but is not limited thereto. For example, a part of the film of the metal lid member 130 may be removed, and this exposed portion may be used as the reference electrode 26. In this case, the lid member 130 (airtight case 100) used as the reference electrode 26 may be attached to the intracorporeal device so as to be electrically connected to the electrode 27. Moreover, although the case where the receiving means 23 (receiving part 20a) and the stimulating part 20b are connected via the cable 22 is shown in the above embodiment, the receiving part 20b and the stimulating part 20b are connected via the cable 22. It may be connected directly. In this case, at least two conducting members 121 of the airtight case 100 and the receiving unit 20b may be connected. In this way, the shape of the in-vivo device 20 can be further reduced, and the burden on the patient can be further reduced.

It is the schematic which showed the external appearance of the visual reproduction auxiliary | assistance apparatus. It is a figure which shows the internal body apparatus of a visual reproduction assistance device. It is a schematic diagram of the cross section near an airtight case. It is explanatory drawing of the creation method of a stimulation part. It is the figure which showed the state which installed the in-vivo apparatus in the patient's eye. It is a block diagram of a control system. It is an example of a modification of an internal device. It is modification 2 of an intracorporeal device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Visual reproduction | regeneration assistance apparatus 21 Board | substrate 21a Lead wire 27 Electrode 40 Electronic circuit 100 Airtight case 110 Mounting stand 120 Wiring member 121 Conductive member 130 Cover member

Claims (4)

In a visual reproduction assisting device that reproduces the vision of a patient
A substrate on which a plurality of stimulation electrodes for applying electrical stimulation to cells constituting the retina and lead wires connected to each of the plurality of electrodes are formed, and a curved surface shape having a radius of curvature along the eyeball shape A substrate with
An electronic circuit for controlling an electrical stimulation pulse to be sent to the stimulation electrode;
A mounting table formed of a metal material having biocompatibility and mounting the electronic circuit on the upper surface side and bonding the lower surface side to the substrate, at least the lower surface having a shape along the curved shape of the eyeball. A table,
A lid member for sealing the electronic circuit formed on the mounting table and formed with a radius of curvature along the curved surface shape in the eye with a metal material having biocompatibility;
A wiring member formed in a ring shape along the outer periphery of the mounting table and the lid member with a material having biocompatibility and insulation, for electrically connecting the lead wire and the electronic circuit A wiring member having a conductive member formed thereon,
The visual reproduction assisting device, wherein the electronic circuit is hermetically sealed by an airtight case configured by joining the mounting table and the outer peripheral portion of the lid member and the wiring member. The visual reproduction assisting device according to claim 1, wherein
A visual reproduction assisting device, wherein the mounting table and the lid member are made of titanium, a titanium alloy, or stainless steel. The visual reproduction assisting device according to claim 2, wherein
The visual reproduction assisting device, wherein the wiring member is made of ceramics. In the visual reproduction auxiliary device according to claims 1 to 3,
The joint surface between the installation base and the lid member in the wiring member is formed in a plane,
A visual regeneration assisting device, wherein a flat collar portion is formed on the outer periphery of the installation base and the lid member so as to be joined to the joining surface of the wiring member.

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