Could light-sensitive proteins replace a retinal implant? · Grey Matter

Optogenetics tries exactly that: a gene therapy makes the surviving ganglion cells of the retina respond to light, so no chip is needed.

Could light-sensitive proteins replace a retinal implant?

Optogenetics tries exactly that: a gene therapy makes the surviving ganglion cells of the retina respond to light, so no chip is needed. In 2021 a man blind from retinitis pigmentosa, treated this way and wearing goggles that projected intensified light onto his retina, could perceive, locate and count some objects on a table. Both approaches still depend on glasses that turn the scene into a strong signal, and for now the implant gives the sharper result: PRIMA patients gained on average about five lines on a reading chart.