Eye Implantable Camera

Light-sensitive chips that sit at the back of the eye have great potential to help people with certain types of vision loss. They work by converting light into an electrical signal that can then be fed directly to the brain via nerve cells at the back of the eye.

But Michelle Hauer, an optical engineer at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, US, says a better idea is to implant the camera directly within the eye, but avoiding the retina.

She and colleagues have come up with a design that is small enough to be implanted within the lens of the eye, and takes into account the effect of the cornea on incoming light.

The device transmits images to a chip at the back of the eye, which passes the image signals on to the nerve cells.

Hauer says the device would have an onboard battery that could be charged wirelessly by induction, making the set-up relatively inconspicuous.

via New Sceientist via Engadget and Patent Application