Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Visual system is the effective and important sensory system for animals receiving outside information. The number of the blind patients who are caused by the visual diseases or visual injury is boosting, and the visual cortex prosthesis is a promising way for the patients to re-achieve the vision. Despite some progresses after several years research of the visual cortex prosthesis, there remain issues and challenges in visual cortex prosthesis.
OBJECTIVE: Because the number of the microelectrode which is implanted in the visual cortex is restricted, the visual image processing strategy based on sparsity and synchronization in the visual cortex prosthesis is proposed.
METHODS: The strategy was based on the physiological properties of the visual cortex. Firstly, the image basic functions were abstracted using the sparsity of the Topographic Independent Component Analysis (TICA). Then, the optimal responses of basic functions were selected using pulse-coupled neural networks (PCNN). Finally, the optimal responses were used to stimulate the corresponding neurons to restore the visual image.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Simulated results demonstrated that the nature images were representative using less available neurons. Therefore, it could lessen number of the electrodes of the visual cortex prosthesis which were implanted in visual cortex for the blind people.