First synthetic retina created

A soft tissue retinal implant has been created by a researcher at Oxford University, raising hopes for a wider range of future treatments for visually impaired people.

Consisting of hydrogels and biological cell membrane proteins, the synthetic material can generate electrical signals to stimulate neurons at the back of the eye. The cells act as pixels, detecting and reacting to light to create a greyscale image.

Vanessa Restrepo-Schild, a doctoral student at the University and lead author of the study published in Scientific Reports, said: “I want to take the principles behind vital bodily functions, e.g. our sense of hearing, touch and the ability to detect light, and replicate them in a laboratory environment with natural, synthetic components. I hope my research is the first step in a journey towards building technology that is soft and biodegradable instead of hard and wasteful.”

Currently, the only available retinal implants are rigid, meaning they are more invasive and carry the risk of infection through foreign bodies in the eye. Miss Restrepo-Schild added: “The human eye is incredibly sensitive, which is why foreign bodies like metal retinal implants can be so damaging, leading to inflammation and/or scarring. But a biological synthetic implant is soft and water based and so is much friendlier to the eye environment.”

The next stage of Restrepo-Schild’s work will see the implant enhanced to include recognising colours and potentially shapes and symbols. A patent has already been filed for the technology with aims for animal testing and then clinical trials in humans.