Strategic stimulation for sight: Current steering and multi-electrode approaches for improving cortical visual prostheses

Cortical visual prostheses have the potential to restore sight in people who are blind. These prostheses aim to provide high-resolution vision for critical tasks like object recognition and real-world navigation through electrode-based brain stimulation. However, the number of electrodes required in the brain to provide high-resolution artificial vision is not feasible due to neural tissue damage. Additionally, the simultaneous stimulation of multiple electrodes, a requirement for artificial vision generation, can lead to unexpected visual outcomes. This thesis presents novel stimulation strategies for addressing these prominent challenges that prevent high visual resolution from being attained.