Bionic eye that mimics how pupils respond to light may improve vision

Murugesu was written by Jason Arunn.

One step closer to helping people with certain visual impairments may be brought about by the creation of a bionic eye.

Light enters the eye through the pupil and travels to the retina at the back of the eyeball. The light stimuli are converted into nerve impulses which are sent to the brain.

The so-called pupillary light reflex compensates for changes in light levels by adjusting the size of the eye's iris, which protects it from bright light. This process can be impaired in people with an injury to their oculomotor nerve, which regulates eye muscle movement, resulting in double vision, light sensitivity or difficulty focusing on nearby objects.

A group of people at a university in China have developed a material that mimics the eye model.