Open AccessVirtual reality validation of naturalistic modulation strategies to counteract fading in retinal stimulation
Author(s) -
Jacob Thorn,
Naïg Chenais,
Sandrine Hinrichs,
Marion Chatelain,
Diego Ghezzi
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of neural engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.594
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1741-2560
pISSN - 1741-2552
DOI - 10.1088/1741-2552/ac5a5c
Subject(s) - fading , phosphene , computer science , visual prosthesis , task (project management) , retinal implant , computer vision , artificial intelligence , stimulation , psychology , telecommunications , transcranial magnetic stimulation , neuroscience , engineering , decoding methods , retina , systems engineering
Objective . Temporal resolution is a key challenge in artificial vision. Several prosthetic approaches are limited by the perceptual fading of evoked phosphenes upon repeated stimulation from the same electrode. Therefore, implanted patients are forced to perform active scanning, via head movements, to refresh the visual field viewed by the camera. However, active scanning is a draining task, and it is crucial to find compensatory strategies to reduce it. Approach . To address this question, we implemented perceptual fading in simulated prosthetic vision using virtual reality. Then, we quantified the effect of fading on two indicators: the time to complete a reading task and the head rotation during the task. We also tested if stimulation strategies previously proposed to increase the persistence of responses in retinal ganglion cells to electrical stimulation could improve these indicators. Main results . This study shows that stimulation strategies based on interrupted pulse trains and randomisation of the pulse duration allows significant reduction of both the time to complete the task and the head rotation during the task. Significance . The stimulation strategy used in retinal implants is crucial to counteract perceptual fading and to reduce active head scanning during prosthetic vision. In turn, less active scanning might improve the patient’s comfort in artificial vision.