Implantable chip may serve role as prosthetic retina

A prototype of an implantable chip might be adaptable to serve as a prosthetic retina and as a drug-delivery system, according to the researchers who developed the chip.

Harvey A. Fishman, MD, PhD, and colleagues at the Stanford Ophthalmic Tissue Engineering Laboratory in California built a computer chip with four tiny openings and used it to control the environment of neuron-like cells. The chip exuded droplets of chemicals using electro-osmosis. The cells can be monitored for responses via fluorescent dye. The chip also withdraws chemicals when necessary, which may help avoid toxic buildup, the researchers reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The researchers noted the chip is several years away from human trials.