Fig. 2: Subretinal arrays of three geometries.
From: Enhancing prosthetic vision by upgrade of a subretinal photovoltaic implant in situ
Scanning electron microscopy of A planar monopolar array, B 25 µm tall honeycomb structures fabricated in silicon and sputtered with titanium, C implants with electroplated 35 µm tall gold pillars sputter-coated with titanium. All implants are imaged on top of the porcine RPE for scale. This fabrication process has been established and repeated independently five times with similar outcomes for each type of implant. D–F Rendered confocal images of the whole mount retina on top of the implant, showing the inner nuclear layer (INL) up to the top of the 3-D array 6 weeks after implantation, indicating the level of retinal integration with each implant. Blue is the DAPI staining of cell nuclei. D Planar implant with the full INL on top (n = 15), E honeycombs with part of the INL cells within the wells (n = 17), F pillar array with the INL cells that migrated between the electroplated structures (n = 6). G–I Unrendered confocal images showing the top-down z-stack view of DAPI nuclei across the implant 25 μm above the base. N numbers represent individual experiments with biological replicates, all yielding similar results.
