Research & Development World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

3D Printed Bionic Eye Prototype Could Help the Blind

By Kenny Walter | August 29, 2018

A potentially 3D printed bionic eye could give some hope to those with a visual impairment.

A team from the University of Minnesota has created a 3D printed array of light receptors on a hemispherical surface for the first time ever, which could eventually lead to a bionic eye that would help blind people see or sighted people see better.

“Bionic eyes are usually thought of as science fiction, but now we are closer than ever using a multimaterial 3D printer,” Michael McAlpine, a co-author of the study and University of Minnesota Benjamin Mayhugh Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, said in a statement.

The devices are integrated into image sensing arrays with high sensitivity and wide field of view, by 3D printing interconnected photodetectors directly on flexible substrates and hemispherical surfaces.

The researchers began with a hemispherical glass dome that proved that they could overcome the challenge of printing electronics on a curved surface. They then used a custom-built 3D printer with a base ink of silver particles. The dispensed ink stayed in place and dried uniformly rather than running down the curved surface.

Semiconducting polymer materials then enabled the researchers to print photodiodes that convert the light into electricity. The entire printing process takes about one hour.

Extrusion‐based 3D printing has been previously used in the comprehensive fabrication of light‐emitting diodes using various functional inks, without cleanrooms or conventional microfabrication techniques. The researchers were able to show that polymer-based photodetectors exhibit high performance with a 25.3 percent efficiency.

“We have a long way to go to routinely print active electronics reliably, but our 3D-printed semiconductors are now starting to show that they could potentially rival the efficiency of semiconducting devices fabricated in microfabrication facilities,” McAlpine said. “Plus, we can easily print a semiconducting device on a curved surface, and they can’t.”

The team now plans to create a prototype with more light receptors that are even more efficient. They also plan to develop a technique to print on a soft hemispherical material that can be implanted into a real eye.

Previously the same research team developed a bionic ear by integrating 3D printing, electronics and biology on a single platform. They have also printed life-like artificial organs for surgical practice, electronic fabric that could serve as a bionic skin, electronics directly on a moving hand and cells and scaffolds that could help people living with spinal cord injuries regain some function in recent years.

The study was published in Advanced Materials.     

Related Articles Read More >

Caltech team 3D-prints drug depots deep inside living tissue
What could make MXene a key to ultra-precise, additive-free 3D microprinting?
Industry 4.0 Modern Factory: Facility Operator Controls Workshop Production Line, Uses Computer with Screens Showing Complex UI of Machine Operation Processes, Controllers, Machinery Blueprints
Building the thinking factory: An additive exec on AI, automation, and the skills crisis
Red Bull and Mercedes F1 cars 3D illustration, 30 Aug, 2022, Texas, EUA
6 technologies pushing Formula 1’s engineering frontier
rd newsletter
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, trends, and strategies in Research & Development.
RD 25 Power Index

R&D World Digital Issues

Fall 2024 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R&D magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE