Researchers develop synthetic soft retina offering hope to visually impaired people

New Delhi: Offering fresh hope to visually impaired people, researchers have developed a synthetic, soft tissue retina which closely mimics the natural human retinal process.

The researchers believe that the study could lead to development of new, less invasive technologies that more closely resemble human body tissues, helping to treat degenerative eye conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa.

Until now, artificial retinal research has used mostly rigid, hard materials. 

"The human eye is incredibly sensitive, which is why foreign bodies like metal retinal implants can be so damaging, leading to inflammation and/or scaring. But a biological synthetic implant is soft and water based, so much more friendly to the eye environment," said lead researcher Vanessa Restrepo-Schild from Oxford University.

Just as photography depends on camera pixels reacting to light, vision relies on the retina performing the same function.

The retina sits at the back of the human eye, and contains protein cells that convert light into electrical signals that travel through the nervous system, triggering a response from the brain, ultimately building a picture of the scene being viewed. 

The the new synthetic, double layered retina replica consists of soft water droplets (hydrogels) and biological cell membrane proteins. 

Designed like a camera, the cells act as pixels, detecting and reacting to light to create a grey scale image. 

"The synthetic material can generate electrical signals, which stimulate the neurons at the back of our eye just like the original retina," Restrepo-Schild said.

(With IANS inputs)