MEMS Prototype May Be Used To Cure Some Blindness

UNADTED PHOTO: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) A prototype of the microelectromechanical systems-based (MEMS) array that eventually may be inserted onto the retina of a blind patient is shown. The idea, funded by a $9 million, three-year grant from the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research, is to create 1,000 points of light through 1,000 tiny MEMs electrodes. The electrodes will be positioned on the retinas of those blinded by diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. The design is by Murat Okandan. (Photo by Randy Montoya/Sandia National Laboratories/Getty Images)