how can blind patients see and read again? scientists use eye implant with tiny solar cells

"Titled the PRIMA project, the study sees the creation of a retinal implant that can restore the central vision in people affected by geographic atrophy, which is a late stage of age-related macular degeneration. The latter causes the gradual loss of photoreceptor cells in the retina, leading to central blindness while leaving peripheral vision mostly intact. The PRIMA system combines a small eye implant with external glasses that can transmit light and data to the device using embedded solar cells in the retinal object."

"It is surgically placed under the retina, in the area where natural photoreceptors have been lost due to geographic atrophy, and the system operates with a pair of glasses. These glasses capture visual scenes through a small camera mounted at the front, and the images are processed and converted into near-infrared light signals, which are projected onto the implant through the eye's pupil. The implant absorbs this infrared light and transforms it into electrical impulses."

A PRIMA photovoltaic retinal implant restores central vision lost to geographic atrophy, a late-stage age-related macular degeneration, by replacing absent photoreceptors. The implant is a 2 mm by 2 mm, 30 µm thick chip with microscopic electrodes that act as artificial photoreceptors. The device is placed under the retina where photoreceptors have degenerated. External glasses capture scenes with a front-mounted camera, convert images into near-infrared light, and project those signals through the pupil onto the implant. The implant converts the light into electrical impulses that stimulate remaining retinal cells, sending signals through the optic nerve to produce central visual perceptions.

Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine