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SUMMARY:The quest to restore vision: Optimizing neural activation in retina
 l implants
DESCRIPTION:Abstract:\nFollowing a short overview of the newly established 
 Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Melbourne\, and 
 some of the challenges associated with its establishment\, this seminar wi
 ll present research involving the development of retinal implant stimulati
 on techniques. A number of challenges facing electrical stimulation of the
  retina necessitate more sophisticated methods of stimulation in order to 
 achieve targeted and meaningful perception. Computational models of curren
 t flow and neural activation in complex retinal tissue provide a means for
  the exploration of novel multi-electrode stimulation strategies and the d
 evelopment of stimulus optimization techniques. This seminar deals with bo
 th biophysically-detailed and phenomenological approaches to the modelling
  of neural activation in the retina in response to simultaneous multi-elec
 trode stimulation. Through the recovery of a simple statistical linear-non
 linear model of retinal activation from a complex biophysical model\, a co
 mputationally inexpensive\, yet highly accurate\, model of retinal activat
 ion in response to multi-electrode activation is presented. Via the repres
 entation of this model as an equivalent artificial neural network\, a meth
 od for the efficient and robust optimization of stimulus currents given de
 sired neural activation patterns is presented.\nBiosketch:\nProfessor Anth
 ony (Tony) Burkitt holds the Chair in Bio-Signals and Bio-Systems in the D
 epartment of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Melbourne since 2
 007. His research encompasses a number of areas of neuroscience and medica
 l bionics\, including computational neuroscience\, neuroengineering\, reti
 nal-implant vision processing\, cochlear-implant speech processing and bio
 -signal processing for epilepsy. His research has made significant contrib
 utions to understanding the behaviour and function of the brain and it has
  also been instrumental in the development of visual stimulation paradigms
  for retinal implants\, new cochlear implant speech processing strategies\
 , methods for detecting and predicting seizures\, and the use of electrica
 l stimulation for seizure abatement in epilepsy. He was the Director of Bi
 onic Vision Australia (2010-2016)\, a Special Research Initiative in Bioni
 c Vision Science and Technology of the Australian Research Council (ARC)\,
  and he successfully led the project though all of its phases: Project con
 ception\, securing $50million in ARC funding\, the research and developmen
 t programs that led to the development of a prototype bionic eye (supracho
 roidal retinal implant)\, the successful implantation in three patients\, 
 and the establishment of the company Bionic Vision Technologies (BVT) with
  US$18million of venture capital for the ongoing commercial and clinical d
 evelopment of the technology.
URL:https://www.imperial.ac.uk/events/98120/the-quest-to-restore-vision-opt
 imizing-neural-activation-in-retinal-implants/
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20180926T150000
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LOCATION:United Kingdom
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