Protein-based artificial retina
Implant made from many thin layers of a light-sensitive protein, meant to stand in for the damaged light-sensing cells in eyes with retinitis pigmentosa or macular degeneration.
Why it matters
Retinal diseases take the sight of millions of people and have few effective treatments. If the implant works and orbit-made layers prove more uniform, it could be one of the first medical products made partly in space.
How the technology works
The implant stacks about 200 alternating layers of bacteriorhodopsin, a light-absorbing protein related to the rhodopsin in our eyes, and a polymer. Gravity effects such as settling make even layers hard to build on Earth, so LambdaVision has tested the process on nine ISS missions.
A flight on Helogen's autonomous HEL-IOS platform to test the protein in orbit was scheduled for October 2026.
Sources
Updated Oct 22, 2026 · How we source facts · Suggest a correction