Light-driven photothermal array to stimulate retinal cells for vision restoration
Official title: Development of a photothermal stimulator array for controlled neuron stimulation
Funded at City College of New York · NIH-11169826 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project builds a light-controlled device that uses tiny, targeted heat pulses to activate retinal nerve cells for people with advanced retinal degeneration like retinitis pigmentosa or age-related macular degeneration.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | City College of New York NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | September 5, 2022 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $157,455 |
| NIH project number | 5R16GM145601-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11169826 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be people with severe vision loss from retinal degeneration (for example advanced retinitis pigmentosa or late-stage age-related macular degeneration) who have few treatment options left.
✕Less likely to help
People whose vision loss is caused by optic nerve or brain disorders, or those with mild early-stage retinal disease, are unlikely to benefit from this prosthesis.
What this research studies
From your perspective, researchers are creating a two-dimensional array of tiny photothermal pixels that convert incoming images into controlled local heat pulses to directly stimulate retinal neurons. The device is designed to activate many retinal cells across a large area and aim for finer spatial resolution than current electrical prostheses. The team will design, fabricate, and test the array in laboratory models and refine pixel control, safety, and image-to-stimulation mapping. This is early-stage engineering work intended to move toward a new kind of retinal prosthesis that could eventually be tested in people.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could enable retinal prostheses that restore clearer, higher-resolution artificial vision for people blinded by degenerative retinal diseases.
How similar studies have gone: Electrical retinal prostheses have been used in people but provide limited resolution, while photothermal stimulation is a newer approach with promising laboratory results and little to no human testing so far.
Where this research is happening
-
City College of New York
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Seo, Sang-Woo — City College of New York
- Study coordinator: Seo, Sang-Woo
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.