Tiny solar panels placed at the back of the eye could help patients recover from sight loss, a University of Surrey study has found.
For most sufferers of age-related macular degeneration there is no treatment, but one idea to change that is to insert a tiny ‘solar panel’ at the back of the eye, said research lead Dr Leslie Askew from the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering at the University of Surrey. “Just like solar panels convert light to electricity, our flexible device sits at the back of the eye converting light to electrical signals carrying colour information through to the optic nerve. Previously, this has only ever been achieved in black and white vision, so to be able to restore colour vision is really exciting.”
For the study, thiophene-based materials paired with acceptor molecules were used to improve the output signal to a point where cells in the middle of the retinal layers could be stimulated, she said, adding the study demonstrated new materials could do the job while being cheaper and more flexible than alternatives.
