• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Sunday, June 15, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Organic, printable device could restore sight to the blind

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
May 14, 2021
in Health
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
ADVERTISEMENT
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

‘Artificial retina’ created using a biomedical printing press

IMAGE

Credit: University of Sydney

A researcher at the University of Sydney is developing a printable device that acts like a retina and could one day restore sight to blind people.

Dr Matthew Griffith, from the Australian Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis and the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, has created an electrical device from multi-coloured carbon-based semiconductors -that uses absorbed light to fire the neurons that transmit signals from the eyes to the brain, acting as an artificial retina for those who have lost this capacity.

The retina is the thin layer of tissue that lines the back of the eye which functions to receive light, convert it into neural signals, and send these signals to the brain for processing.

“Worldwide, the number of people living with vision impairment is at least 2.2 billion. Our research aims to provide a biomedical solution to those experiencing blindness from retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the second being one of the leading causes of blindness in the world,” said Dr Griffith.

Dr Griffith hopes to ultimately apply this technology, a type of neural interface, to restore sensory function to those with spinal cord injuries, and to treat people with neurodegenerative diseases. A neural interface is a device that interacts with an individual’s nervous system to record or stimulate activity.

“Among other functions, neurons are the body’s signal conductors. A missing neuron link, which can be caused by, for example, a spinal cord injury, can cause severe problems. It can also be debilitating if neurons misfire – this can cause blindness and deafness, as well as diseases like Parkinson’s and epilepsy, for which there is no cure,” he said.

“Neural interfaces can bridge this neuronal divide, or, in the case of misfiring, re-program the neurons.”

Dr Griffith’s device can be printed using the same, low-cost method as newspaper printing, with a high-speed roll to roll press.

“Similar technologies are being intensively developed, though our device differs in that it is made of carbon – the same building block as human cells,” Dr Griffith said.

“Other devices tend to be rigid and usually made of silicon or metal, which can present problems integrating with the human body that is soft and flexible. Our organic device is designed with this issue in mind.”

Dr Griffith has been awarded an NHMRC Ideas grant to continue work on the project together with colleagues from the University of Sydney and neurobiologists from the University of Newcastle.

How the device will work

It is intended that the device will be printed onto soft and flexible surfaces from water-based inks that contain nerve growth factors and then inserted into a patient’s retina by a surgeon.

Once the relevant neurons reconnect to it, the retina will regain lost functionality when stimulated with light. At this stage, Dr Griffith and his team have conducted experiments using neurons from the spinal cord and eyes of mice.

Early experiments examined the growth of mice neuronal cells onto the semiconductors in a petri dish, after which the electrical activity of the neurons was tested.

“Not only did these cells survive – they grew and maintained neural functionality,” Dr Griffith said.

“The next step is to control where they grow by printing nanopatterns. This is so in future, we can direct them to grow into specific bodily locations, like a spinal cord or retina.”

How it differs to comparable, sight-restoring technology

Comparable technologies are attempting to replicate both the eye and the brain in an effort to restore sight. Yet, this method requires a more sophisticated approach.

“Patients do get some vision back, which is definitely life-changing for those without sight. However, it’s not what you or I would think of as high-fidelity vision. Current state-of-the-art produces large blurry shapes in black and white,” Dr Griffith said.

Another key difference is that Dr Griffith’s device does not require any electricity – it is powered internally by light from the outside world.

“If successful, our device will help us progress towards solving one of the great scientific challenges of the 21st century; communicating with the human body’s sensory network.

We hope to achieve this using nothing but light, which opens up some really exciting prospects for the future of bioelectronic technology.”

###

Declaration: There are no conflicts of interest to declare.

Media Contact
Luisa Low
[email protected]

Original Source

https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2021/05/14/organic–printable-device-could-restore-sight-to-the-blind.html

Tags: BiotechnologyMedicine/HealthneurobiologyNeurochemistryParkinson
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Perivascular Fluid Diffusivity Predicts Early Parkinson’s Decline

Perivascular Fluid Diffusivity Predicts Early Parkinson’s Decline

June 14, 2025
blank

SP140–RESIST Pathway Controls Antiviral Immunity

June 11, 2025

Food-Sensitive Olfactory Circuit Triggers Anticipatory Satiety

June 11, 2025

Hippocampus Flexes Experience Coding with Rewards

June 11, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Green brake lights in the front could reduce accidents

    Study from TU Graz Reveals Front Brake Lights Could Drastically Diminish Road Accident Rates

    158 shares
    Share 63 Tweet 40
  • New Study Uncovers Unexpected Side Effects of High-Dose Radiation Therapy

    75 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • Pancreatic Cancer Vaccines Eradicate Disease in Preclinical Studies

    69 shares
    Share 28 Tweet 17
  • How Scientists Unraveled the Mystery Behind the Gigantic Size of Extinct Ground Sloths—and What Led to Their Demise

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Magnetic Soft Millirobot Enables Simultaneous Locomotion, Sensing

Urban Form Shapes Compound Natural Risk: US Study

Perivascular Fluid Diffusivity Predicts Early Parkinson’s Decline

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.