The Stanford Artificial Retina Project
Goal
The goal of our research is to develop an advanced artificial retina: an electronic implant that will restore vision to people blinded by incurable retinal disease. We focus on an innovative combination of basic and applied research to create a unique device capable of closely mimicking normal retinal function. In contrast to the approaches taken by other groups, we aim to reproduce the precise retinal code at a cellular resolution with cell-type specificity, resulting in high-fidelity artificial vision.
To accomplish this goal, the Stanford Artificial Retina Project combines expertise in neurophysiology, electrical engineering, materials science, retinal surgery, visual behavior, and computational neuroscience. This collaboration is funded in part by the Stanford Neurotechnology Initiative, a Big Idea of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute.
Vision
Our vision is that development of this technology for interfacing effectively to the human visual system will speed the development of other high-fidelity neural implants of the future, for treating neurological disorders and eventually for expanding human capabilities. The technology will also enable new basic neuroscience research, allowing heretofore inaccessible insights into understanding how neural circuits in the brain function.
Explore our research approach, get to know the team, and peruse our publications and other relevant media.
Recent News
How the Brain Works, Curing Blindness & How to Navigate a Career Path
In this interview on the Huberman Lab podcast, Dr. Chichilnisky discusses studying the retina, how this informs our understanding of the brain, the development of artificial retinas, and his own personal journey.
BrainMind Summit 2023: Toward a high-fidelity artificial retina
Dr. E.J. Chichilnisky describes progress toward a high-fidelity artificial retina at the Brain Mind Summit in 2023. This 11-minute presentation is a quick introduction to this unique approach to treating incurable blindness.
BrainMind Summit 2023: Interview with E.J. Chichilnisky
Interview with Dr. E.J. Chichilnisky at the BrainMind Summit 2023, about the science behind the Stanford Artificial Retina Project and the unique environment at Stanford university that makes it possible.
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Building a Bionic Eye
While it sounds like science fiction, the possibility of engineering an artificial retina, a bionic eye, is closer than you might think. EJ Chichilnisky is the John R Adler professor of neurosurgery and a professor of opthalmology here at Stanford, where he leads the Stanford Artificial Retina Project. His team is engineering an electronic implant to restore vision to people blinded by incurable retinal disease. In other words, they are prototyping a bionic eye.
Using machine learning to identify individual variations in the primate retina
What does the eye tell the brain? Stanford researchers have found individual differences in how primate retinas process light stimuli and transmit visual signals to the brain.