Parylene Facilitates Advances in Intraocular Implant Technology

I just received the summer issue of the Global Coverage e-newsletter from Specialty Coating Services, a supplier of parylene coating services, which has a couple of noteworthy items. The lead story covers the opening of a new plant in Pilsen, Czech Republic, which medtechinsider reported on back in August. Of more interest to me is a piece on how parylene conformal coatings are advancing intraocular implant technology.

People suffering from age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa gradually go blind. Developers of intraocular implants, notes the article, are looking for ways to stimulate the remaining functional nerve endings within the retina to recreate vision. One type of device currently under development places a miniature video camera in a special pair of glasses to capture the scene in front of the patient. The resultant electrical signals are sent to a signal processor on the patient’s hip where they are converted into digital video data. The eyeglass assembly also contains an inductive coil for data and power transmission into the eye. A companion coil and electronics package within the eye convert the video data stream from thehip processor into signals that are scanned onto an electrode matrix attached to the retina. The electrode matrix stimulates the retinal nerves, producing an image in a manner similar to the way a video monitor creates a picture. The retina nerve endings send the image to the brain and the patient can again see. Parylene is an ideal coating for this type of device, according to the company, because it protects the device from the eye’s fluids and chemistry as it protects the eye from the device.

Tags: intraocular implant, SCS, Specialty Coating Services