Retinal implants can already restore sight to people who have lost it owing to degenerative eye diseases like macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa. Now new research suggests a way to make higher-quality, more biocompatible retinal implants by integrating living neural cells with a soft organic polymer semiconductor.

A retinal implant restores vision by sending a signal from a video camera attached to a pair of glasses to electrodes implanted on the back of a person’s retina. But the silicon or platinum components typically used to for the electrodes tend to produce images of limited quality, and can leave the retina scarred.

via A Sharper Future for Retinal Implants – Technology Review.