Abstract:

Within the scope of this work, the possibilities of implantable microelectronic systems for giving back a certain vision to blind people are demonstrated. With respect to recent developments in ophthalmologic implants, two examples are presented in particular. The Intraocular Vision Aid (IoVA) has been developed for blind people whose cornea of the eye is opaque due to illness or accident. The Retina Implant (RI) has been developed for blind people whose photoreceptors in the human retina are degenerating. In both of the presented ophthalmologic implants, microelectronic circuits are applied in optical free space links, whose concepts and technical feasibility is the main objective of this work. Furthermore, the structural-design technologies developed for the application in eye implants are demonstrated by means of the Intraocular Vision Aid. In the broader sense, this includes the pilot development of a miniature LED-array, connected to a CMOS driver circuit by using a hybrid packaging of integrated circuits