Abstract
We aimed to design and manufacture a novel low-cost polyimide microelectrode array (MEA) chip for visual prosthesis research and to evaluate its biological features. A microelectrode array was developed, based on Flexible Printed Circuit Board (FPC) technology which enables electrical stimulation of the cortex. In an in vitro experiment, rat visual cortex cells were co-cultured with the chip and examined using scanning electron microscopy. Trypan blue exclusion and methyl blue tetrazolium tests showed that cell viability and survival rates (90–98%) did not significantly differ between the co-cultured chip group and the control group. In an in vivo experiment HE/Nissl staining performed to investigate the possibility of brain tissue degeneration around implanted MEAs showed no negative effects of the chip on visual cortical cells after 1 month in situ. The good functional characteristics and biocomptability suggest that such a low-cost device could have widespread application, particularly in countries with a large blind population and limited financial resources
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program) (No. 2007AA04Z324) and by Nature Science Foundation of China Grant (No. 30800213). The authors thank Dr. T. FitzGibbon for his valuable comments on earlier versions of the manuscript.
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Li-Feng Chen and Ning Hu authors contributed equally to this work.
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Chen, LF., Hu, N., Liu, N. et al. The design and preparation of a flexible bio-chip for use as a visual prosthesis, and evaluation of its biological features. Cell Tissue Res 340, 421–426 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-010-0973-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-010-0973-9