Can we fix dead pixels… in our eyes?!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
To see, our eyes need light to trigger brain signals. For people with a disease called macular degeneration, that connection is broken, creating a permanent blind spot!
Enter Frank Holz and team from the University of Bonn.
They implanted a chip into the eyes of thirty-eight patients. Special glasses capture what’s in front of the eye and beam invisible light to the chip. That’s converted into electrical brain signals.
After a year, eighty percent of patients could read better! The chip filled the blank spot while keeping their natural side vision working.
Wow! I guess a pixel really is worth a thousand words!
Reference: Holz, F. G., Le Mer, Y., Muqit, M. M., Hattenbach, L. O., Cusumano, A., Grisanti, S., … & Sahel, J. A. (2025). Subretinal photovoltaic implant to restore vision in geographic atrophy due to AMD. New England Journal of Medicine.