Oxford University student Vanessa Restrepo-Schild is developing a synthetic, soft tissue retina that more closely resembles human tissue than current artificial retina technology.
Unlike existing implants, the cell-cultures are created from natural, biodegradable materials and do not contain foreign bodies or living entities. This makes the implant less invasive than a mechanical device, and less likely to have an adverse reaction on the body.
The technology has only been tested in a lab, therefore its usefulness with living tissues is unknown. If successful, this could be a breakthrough for the visually impaired.
The retina replica consists of soft water droplets and biological cell membrane proteins. Designed like a camera, the cells act as pixels, detecting and reacting to light to create a grey scale image. The synthetic material can generate electrical signals, which stimulate the neurons at the back of our eye, similar to an original retina.
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