The recent testing of tellurium meshes has demonstrated promising capabilities, particularly in infrared vision, when applied to healthy macaques—animals that offer a physiological model closer to humans compared to traditional studies on mice. The findings revealed that the implanted macaques were able to detect infrared light while maintaining their normal vision function.
Despite these advancements, several challenges remain before the widespread implementation of eye implants reminiscent of the ones seen in Cyberpunk.
Sensitivity challenges
The researchers from Fudan University acknowledged in their publication that tellurium meshes exhibit significantly lower light sensitivity than natural photoreceptors. This raises questions about their suitability for use in retinal prosthetics. A major challenge in vision science is that animal models, such as mice or macaques, cannot verbally communicate their visual experiences, making it difficult to decipher how the electrical signals from the tellurium implants translate into visual perception within the brain.
Through the Fudan team’s experiments, it was observed that the implanted animals showed reactions to light, although their responses were not as efficient as those of normally sighted individuals. It is also evident that these animals required an adjustment period; initial testing did not yield their best results, as they needed time to comprehend the meanings of the unexpected stimuli from their eyes, akin to humans who have previously used electrode arrays. Additionally, the tests utilized laser projections for shape recognition, complicating the assessment of how the implant would perform in typical daylight conditions.
There are inherent risks associated with the surgical procedure to implant these devices. The process entails creating a local detachment of the retina followed by a minor incision to insert the implant. Eduardo Fernández, a Spanish bioengineer who wrote a commentary on Fudan’s findings in the journal Science, cautioned that performing this on delicate, diseased retinas can result in fibrosis and scarring. Nonetheless, he regarded the Chinese implants as “promising.” The Fudan team is actively engaged in evaluating the long-term safety of their implants in non-human primates and working on enhancing the integration between the retina and the implant.
The findings from the Fudan team’s research on tellurium retinal implants are detailed in a study published in Science.
Science, 2025. DOI: 10.1126/science.ady4439
