Researchers restore light sensitivity to retina using polymer-based optoelectronic interface
Monday, March 18, 2013 - 09:30
in Physics & Chemistry
(Phys.org) —A team of researchers in Italy has successfully demonstrated a means for restoring light sensitivity to a damaged rat retina by incorporating an inorganic polymer with nerve cells. In their paper published in the journal Nature Photonics, the team describes how they placed a damaged rat retina atop a glass substrate covered with a light sensitive polymer and then found that shining a light on the mix resulted in neural activity similar to that which occurs with a healthy retina.