A Non-Invasive Retinal Prosthesis Using Near-Infrared Photothermal Stimulation: From System Design to Cortical Signal ValidationdissertationsLi, JinqiancreatorLee, JonghwanAdvisorSrivastava, VikasReaderGray, MarissaReaderBrown University. Biology and Medicine: Biomedical Engineeringsponsor2025vi, 32 p.born digitalThesis (Sc. M.)--Brown University, 2025thesesIn this study, a non-contact retinal prosthesis system based on gold nanorod (AuNR)-enhanced near-infrared photothermal stimulation was designed and verified. Based on previous research, the system integrates a non-contact fundus imaging laser device (LPF) that can realize retinal imaging and patterned laser stimulation. After intravitreal injection of Thy1-modified AuNR into mice, visual evoked potentials (VEP) induced by NIR stimulation were recorded using electrocorticography (ECoG). The results showed that the AuNR group produced obvious cortical neural responses under NIR stimulation, while no significant response was observed in the PBS control group. This system can achieve imaging and stimulation without corneal contact, providing a technical basis for subsequent behavioral visual acuity measurements and clinical translation. This paper also discusses the limitations of using a normal mouse model and the lack of long-term and awake state verification. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using photo-thermal stimulation to achieve a high-resolution, non-contact artificial vision system.retinal prostheticsnear infrared stimulationgold nanorodsEnglishRPB20250707