Long-term evaluation of a liquid crystal polymer (LCP)-based retinal prosthesis

Objective. The aim of this study is to evaluate the long-term reliability of a recently presented liquid crystal polymer (LCP)-based retinal prosthesis in vitro as well as in vivo. Because an all-polymer implant introduces another intrinsic leak type due to gas permeation, for which the traditional helium leak test for metallic packages was not designed to quantify, a new method to investigate its durability is required. Approach. We designed and carried out a series of reliability tests specifically for all-polymer implants by quantitatively investigating moisture ingress through various pathways of the polymer surface, and the polymer-polymer and polymer-metal adhesions. Moisture permeation through the bulk material was estimated by analytic calculation, while water ingress through the adhesively sealed LCP-LCP and LCP-metal interfaces was investigated using the separate parts of an electrode array and a package in an accelerated aging condition. In vivo tests were done in rabbits to examine the long-term biocompatibility and implantation stability by fundus observation and optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. Main results. The analytic calculation estimated good barrier properties of the LCP. Samples of the LCP-based electrode array failed after 114 days in 87 degrees C saline as a result of water penetration through the LCP-metal interface. An eye-conformable LCP package survived for 87 days in an accelerated condition at 87 degrees C. The in vivo results confirmed that no adverse effects were observed around the retina 2.5 years after the implantation of the device. Significance. These long-term evaluation results show the potential for the chronic use of LCP-based biomedical implants to provide an alternative to traditional metallic packages.