THE FIRST SYNTHETIC SOFT TISSUE RETINA DEVELOPED

A new research by Miss.Vanessa Restrepo-Schild, an Oxford University student has for the first time successfully developed synthetic soft tissue retina in a lab.   

This could lead to a revolution in the industry of bionic implantation and the development of less invasive technologies that closely duplicate human body tissues.  

The double-layered retina developed by Restrepo-Schild closely resembles the natural human retinal process. It contains hydrogels (soft water droplets) and biological cell membrane proteins. It functions like a camera, with its cells acting like pixels, perceiving and responding to light to develop a grey scale image. Just like the original retina which stimulates the neurons at the back of the human eye, the synthetic tissue can generate electrical signals.

Restrepo-Schild has filed a patent for her technology. She will now work on extending the function of retina to recognize various colors.

Taking of the motivation behind her innovational study, Restrepo-Schild stated: 'I have always been fascinated by the human body, and want to prove that current technology could be used to replicate the function of human tissues, without having to actually use living cells.’

The study has been published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Content: www.sciencedaily.com