Microscopic image of 2 sides of retinal patch

“UW-Madison engineers have been investigating how synthetic patches can be used to hold photoreceptor cells and be implanted under a damaged retina to enable it to regenerate. A previous effort involved wine-glass-shaped pores to accommodate the photoreceptor cells, though the scientists weren’t happy with the quantity it could carry, so continued with their experimentation.  . . . . The second-generation of their implantable scaffold takes the shape of an ice cube tray, and can hold three times as many photoreceptor cells – 300,000 of them in all – and features cylindrical holes on the underside so these cells can connect with the patient’s retinal tissue as they mature. It is made from a biocompatible material called poly(glycerol-sebacate) that offers the necessary mechanical strength, but is safely metabolized by the body after it serves its purpose.”   MORE

Image Credit:  The Ma lab/University of Wisconsin-Madison