Soon, we may be able to place solar panels inside our eyes... this is what it's all about.

 

The battle against blindness has been ongoing for thousands of years. Gradual vision loss is something that has always accompanied the world, along with blindness from birth, and it remains a serious issue for us. Over time, improvements in optics and other knowledge have greatly enhanced these aspects, but there is still a long way to go in eliminating it. Now, a scientific team will work on a new method to stimulate our retina so that we can restore our sight.

Currently, a team of engineers from the University of New South Wales in Australia is working on developing a prototype for retinal implants aimed at allowing people who have lost their vision either partially or completely to see again. The device that this team is developing uses solar panels to generate electricity. This energy will be sent to the brain to generate vision through the optic nerve.

The idea they proposed is based on the concept of neural prosthetics, which are technological devices that interact with the nervous system and help restore lost functions. The interesting thing about this approach, compared to traditional prosthetics, is that it does not replace a part of the body but instead serves as a link between the nerve cells and the organ.

In this specific case, the eye implant could be a solution for people suffering from degenerative diseases that slowly but persistently affect the light-receptive cells in the retina. The examples they provided include diseases like retinitis pigmentosa or age-related macular degeneration. Therefore, it is a completely different approach than genetic treatments, for example, which show good results in areas like deafness.

Instead of trying to create new light-receptive cells, the researchers thought of a different approach: replacing them with another system that performs the same function. As a result, they decided to use solar panels to convert incoming light into electrical pulses that are sent directly to the optic nerve.

To achieve this, three solar cells need to be stacked on top of each other to generate enough voltage to stimulate the brain. All of this will be done in a small size, of course. Therefore, they aim to cover an area of about 2 square millimeters.

In summary :

• A team of engineers from the University of New South Wales in Australia is developing a prototype for retinal implants to restore vision.
• The device will use solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity.
• It is a neural device, meaning it interacts with the nervous system and helps restore vision.
• It can be used to treat diseases where the light-receptive cells in the retina degrade slowly, such as retinitis pigmentosa or macular degeneration.
• Instead of creating new light-receptive cells, the solar panels simply convert incoming light into electrical pulses sent to the optic nerve.
• Three solar cells are needed to generate enough voltage to send to the brain, and they should cover an area of 2 square millimeters.
• Users of this treatment may need to wear glasses to amplify sunlight to help stimulate the retinal cells.