[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6320\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EArtificial retinas help bring life back into focus\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the Tel Aviv University in Israel, a research team is developing a retinal implant that restores sight in patients that suffer from degenerative diseases of the retina.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe retina is a film of tissue that lines the back of the eye and it is made up of 10 layers, including photoreceptors, which convert light into electrical signals. This stimulates the neural layers, which send signals from the retina to the part of the brain that deals with sight in order to create a visual sensation.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In these diseases, light-sensitive neurons - the photoreceptors - undergo progressive degeneration, while the rest of retinal neuronal layers remain largely intact,\u2019 said Dr David Rand, a research associate at Tel Aviv University.\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-bg-bluelightest tw-p-12 tw-my-12 tw--mx-16\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3 class=\u0022tw-font-sans tw-font-bold tw-text-blue tw-uppercase tw-text-lg tw-mb-8\u0022\u003EThe Issue\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-inline-block tw-w-1\/6 tw-h-1 tw-bg-blue tw-mb-8\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EAge-related eye conditions are the most common cause of sight loss in Europe. Around 20 million people in Europe have age-related macular degeneration (AMD), for which there is \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.efpia.eu\/diseases\/107\/59\/Age-related-Macular-Degeneration\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Ecurrently no cure\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy 2025, more than 20 % of Europe\u2019s population is expected to be \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/health\/ageing\/policy\/index_en.htm\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Eolder than 65 \u003C\/a\u003Eand the number of people suffering from age-related conditions is expected to rise as the European population ages.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn October 2015, European citizens selected \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/research\/index.cfm?pg=newsalert\u0026amp;year=2015\u0026amp;na=na-221015\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Eageing society\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;as the topic which should be the focus of a EUR 2 million technology inducement prize.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Rand is part of a team working on the FUNMANIA project, led by Professor Yael Hanein and funded by the EU\u0027s European Research Council (ERC), to create a new type of retinal implant.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERetinal implants are devices that can be inserted into the eye to replace the damaged photoreceptors. The big difference between retinal implants in the market today and those FUNMANIA are working on lies in the materials.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMicroelectronics\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECurrently available retinal implants are based on modern microelectronics. They receive an input from either an external camera or a so-called photodiode, a device that converts light into an electrical current. The signal processing is done by a microprocessor, a technology based on semiconductors fabricated on a silicon chip.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The materials (currently) in use are rigid and designed to operate in a dry environment, which makes them unsuitable for the biological surrounding,\u2019 said Dr Rand.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn contrast, FUNMANIA\u2019s implants, which are just a few millimetres in size, are made out of nanomaterials and can operate in a wet environment. The idea is to use flexible carbon nanotubes that conduct electricity to mimic the retinal photoreceptors and create higher resolutions than ever before.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Our device is based on soft, flexible, organic material that serves as a platform for an array of microscale light-sensitive and wire-free microelectrodes,\u2019 he said.\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018It is a standalone device, with a size of just a few millimetres.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr David Rand, Tel Aviv University, Israel\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo far, the team have managed to use carbon nanotubes and semiconducting nanocrystals, known as quantum dots, to make light-sensitive electrodes, and have made a biocompatible carrier for the electrodes to embed them in. They hope to develop this technology over the next two years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In parallel, we have developed the surgical procedure and implanted several implants in rabbits and rats for the purpose of biocompatibility assessment,\u2019 said Dr Rand.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMachine vision\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile technology developed by \u003Cspan\u003EFUNMANIA\u003C\/span\u003E\u0026nbsp;is being used to restore people\u2019s vision, our ability to see is also helping to improve machines, thanks to a separate group of researchers who have been making image sensors that are inspired by the human eye.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe EU-funded SeeBetter project was set up to create faster and more precise image sensors using inspiration from biological retinas. Conventional image sensors, like those you might find in your phone or camera, are limited compared to our own eyes in their ability to process images in both space and time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe SeeBetter researchers modelled retinal vision mathematically and computationally in order to better understand the role of cells in the retina. The ultimate goal was to build a silicon retina with pixels that can process images like the cells in the eye.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EArticle continues below\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@aligncenter@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022The sensors the SeeBetter researchers developed can quickly process images such as a person flipping playing cards in their hands. Image courtesy of SeeBetter\u0022 height=\u0022680\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/Card%20flip.png\u0022 title=\u0022The sensors the SeeBetter researchers developed can quickly process images such as a person flipping playing cards in their hands. Image courtesy of SeeBetter\u0022 width=\u0022902\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EThe sensors the SeeBetter researchers developed can quickly process images such as a person flipping playing cards in their hands. Image courtesy of SeeBetter\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new sensors made by the researchers are much faster than conventional sensors because instead of only producing a signal proportional to the amount of light hitting the pixels, each pixel reacts to changes in light intensity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr David San Segundo Bello, a researcher at IMEC, a nanoelectronics research centre in Belgium, and lead researcher on SeeBetter, says that the finished product has demonstrated its worth in a variety of applications, including the sensor being used to track a remote-control racing car.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOther uses could include medical diagnosis and treatment. \u2018Their inherent object and shape detection could be used in biomedical applications such as cell counting and classification,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-k1fcbwvkmp7x5y9-szaevajtseksm78n0ejbewdt-6c\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-K1fcbWvkmP7x5y9_szaeVAJTSeKsm78N0eJBEwDt_6c\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]