🪩 A New Nanotech Eye Implant Restores Vision—and Lets You See in the Dark
Scientists at Fudan University in China have developed a retinal implant that not only restores sight but also enables animals to perceive near-infrared light, akin to built-in night vision.
The artificial retina implant is composed of tellurium nanowires, only 150 nm thick—about 1/600th the thickness of a human hair. It replaces damaged photoreceptors and functions similarly to the natural ones:
📈 Light hits the nanowires.
📈 The tellurium generates an electric signal.
📈 The signal travels to the optic nerve.
📈 The brain converts it into an image.
Unlike most eye implants, it operates without external power or wiring, significantly simplifying the surgical procedure.
🙈 Tested on Mice and Monkeys
Researchers successfully tested the implant on mice and monkeys. In blind animals, it restored functional vision—pupils began responding to light, the visual cortex showed activity, and the animals could orient in space.
Sighted monkeys gained a new superpower: the ability to sense near-infrared light, which is beyond the natural capabilities of humans and other primates.
The team believes the implant could one day help restore human vision, but it must first pass clinical trials.
