The technology has the potential to be used not only for cochlear implants, but also for other medical applications. Prof. Tobias Moser explains: “Intelligent implantable stimulators based on optical stimulation could also be used for other medical therapies such as laryngeal pacemakers, cardiac pacemakers, pain relieve, retinal implants, or deep brain stimulation.”
The “NeurOpto” project has taken the first steps towards using OLED-on-CMOS technology in optogenetics. The technology is being further developed and the researchers are also open to applications in other medical fields. Although market maturity will still take some time, the results so far show promising potential.
COMPAMED-tradefair.com; Source: Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems