Retinal safety of near infrared radiation in photovoltaic restoration of sight.

Photovoltaic restoration of sight requires intense near-infrared light to effectively stimulate retinal neurons. We assess the retinal safety of such radiation with and without the retinal implant. Retinal damage threshold was determined in pigmented rabbits exposed to 880nm laser radiation. The 50% probability (ED50) of retinal damage during 100s exposures with 1.2mm diameter beam occurred at 175mW, corresponding to a modeled temperature rise of 12.5°C. With the implant, the same temperature was reached at 78mW, close to the experimental ED50 of 71mW. In typical use conditions, the retinal temperature rise is not expected to exceed 0.43°C, well within the safety limits for chronic use.