Can Electrical Stimulation Restore Sight?

Researchers at UC San Diego, led by professor Shadi Dayeh, are developing electrode array technology to electrically stimulate and regenerate damaged optic nerves. The work is part of the VISION initiative aimed at making whole-eye transplantation functionally restore sight. The team has mapped how visual signals travel from the retina through the optic nerve to the visual cortex, building a 'codebook' of the visual pathway. Ultrathin, flexible biocompatible electrode arrays wrap around the optic nerve and visual cortex to record and deliver precise electrical stimulation. The goal is to use controlled stimulation to spur axon regrowth across severed optic nerves. Human trials are anticipated within approximately three years.