Image Acquisition System For Visual Prosthesis

70% needed information for human being is getting though eye. When people lose their eyesight due to nonreversible damage, we have no way to restore sight according to the current medical science and technology, while each year about 450,000 Chinese lose sight. Visual prosthesis is their only hope. This approach is expected to artificially generate visual sensations called phosphenes, which convey limited but crucial functional visual information, helps blind individuals restore partial vision.This paper is a part of 973 project'Basic Research on the Key Issues of Visual Function Recovery for Blindness'. Firstly, a real-time image acquisition and processing system for visual prosthesis is described and tested. The system is based on DM642 digital signal processor with a CMOS image sensor OV6650FS, which is small in size, low power dissipation and low-resolution. The miniature camera generates video signal, which will be converter to electrical pulses to stimulate optical nerve to elicit the visual perception. The feasibility and validity is tested through analyzing and processing the image captured.Meanwhile, an intraocular camera for visual prosthesis, which based on CMOS image sensor with grin lens and solar cell, is designed and presented. The resolution of the CMOS image sensor is 25×25, which is appropriate for visual prosthesis, and the Low-Resolution can significantly reduce the size and the power dissipation.