Appropriate Electrode Positions Improve Stimulation Efficacies in Electrical Eye Stimulations

Electrical stimulations have demonstrated positive effects in improving the survival rates of retinal cells and restoring the visual acuity in patients with ophthalmic diseases. However, optimal application parameters of electrical stimulations still need further exploration for better clinical efficacy. In this paper, a simulation study was performed for the electrical eyes stimulation with the stimulating electrode placed at six different positions on the eyelids. The results showed that the induced electric field was mainly distributed around front parts in the eye, while back position near retina had only strongly attenuated induced fields. Additionally, stimulating electrodes located at upper and outer positions on eyelid tended to produce stronger electric fields in eye than located at the opposite positions. This simulation study demonstrated that electrode positions played an important role in retina cell activities modulation in electrical eyes stimulation, and appropriate configurations that can increase retina stimulation efficiency are of great concern in practical clinical application, which need further exploration and investigation.