When you think of possible treatments for macular degeneration, it's unlikely that you would consider using gold but that's exactly what scientists have been working with.
Brown University researchers injected gold nanonparticles into retinas of laboratory mice and the vision of the mice that had macular degeneration was restored. This fascinating procedure allows the photoreceptors in the eye to be bypassed by focusing infrared light directly onto the nanoparticles of gold. The infrared light generates heat that in turn, triggers the bipolar and ganglion cells. The bipolar and ganglion cells are the cells that normally interpret the signals made by the photoreceptors and send them to the brain.
In order to be able to use this technique in humans, a pair of glasses or goggles would capture data from the environment and create the infrared laser pattern with a small laser device that's embedded into the glasses or goggles. The pulses from the laser then stimulate the gold nanoparticles in the eyes and the laser patterns are then translated in the brain.
