Solar-powered Retinal Implant to Bring Light to the Lives of Blind People

Though an implant that squirts chemicals into the back of your eye may not sound good, a solar-powered chip that stimulates retinal cells by spraying them with neurotransmitters could restore sight to blind people.

The plan for an implant, that would restore vision for a visually impaired person, was put forward by Laxman Saggere of the University of Illinois at Chicago. He built a solar-powered actuator that flexes in response to the very low intensity light that strikes the retina. Multiple actuators pick up the details of the image focused on the retina, allowing some “pixels” to be passed on to the brain. The prototype actuator consisted of a flexible silicon disc that produced a voltage when the silicon solar cell placed next to it is exposed to light. The solar cell is connected to a layer of piezoelectric material, which changes shape in response to the voltage, pushing down on the silicon disc. There are plans to put a reservoir underneath the disc, which will squeeze the neurotransmitters out onto retinal cells.

Source: New Scientist