Device and method for visual stimulation

A device for stimulating subpopulations of a patient's neuron population, the device comprising:

• a stimulation unit including N stimulation elements, each configured to generate respective visual stimulation pulses at different spatial locations corresponding to respective prescribed locations in a visual field of the patient such that the visual stimulation pulses are transmitted to respective subpopulations of the neuron population via an optic nerve of the patient when the visual stimulation pulses are visually received by the patient;
• and
• a control unit configured to sequentially actuate each of the N stimulation elements of the stimulation unit to generate the visual stimulation pulses at a repeating periodic frequency fstim that is between 1 and 30 Hz, where N is an integer and where Tstim is equal to 1/fstim,
• wherein the control until actuates each of the N stimulation elements to generate the visual stimulation pulses for a time period between Tstim/2−Tstim/10 and Tstim/2+Tstim/10, and
• wherein the N stimulation elements are sequentially actuated to generate the visual stimulation pulses with a time offset that is approximately 1/(fstim×N) seconds between respective visual stimulation pulses in the sequence of the visual stimulation pulses generated by the N stimulation elements.