Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

RPS International Images for Science Bionic Eyes
23 November 2017

Bionic Eyes

These surgeons are carrying out the painstaking process of inserting a retinal implant – a tiny electronic sensor that’s a bionic vision system for the blind. These devices work by capturing light information and converting it into electrical signals which travel down the optic nerve to the brain, where they’re interpreted as images. It sounds like a sci-fi solution for sight loss, but there are several limitations. Because retinal implants rely on the nerves from the eye still being intact, they aren’t suitable for all types of blindness. The resolution is also very low – several hundreds of pixels compared to the many thousands that would be needed to recognise a face. Today’s implants are still a long way from fully restoring sight, although they enable people to perceive shapes and shadows. But as technology improves and more pixels are added, there’s hope that a clearer picture will emerge from the darkness.

Written by Kat Arney

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.