Bionic Eye Closer to Reality
From: Medical Device & Diagnostic Indusrty - 08/20/2008

Scientists have invented an eye-shaped camera, which uses materials that
allow it to curve. It could be a predecessor to a bionic eye. 

Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have invented an
eye-shaped camera that could be a predecessor to a bionic eye, reports
nature.com. It is made from a flexible mesh of silicon light-detectors. Real
eyes are curved, which has been a hurdle for those trying to create
artificial ones, because of the rigidity of established electronic materials,
which fracture when bent. But the Illinois team used a series of silicon
photodetectors connected by thin metal wires, and encapsulated them in a thin
film of polyimide plastic. This created a scaffold that could bend without
breaking. The camera is limited to 256 pixels at the moment, but it will be
scaled up. 

Read the entire story at:
http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/blog/?p=777

Links:
Curved electronic eye created
http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080806/full/news.2008.1004.html?s=news_rss

Eye shaped camera provides sharper focus
http://clipmarks.com/clipmark/B5B57693-924E-499F-A0DB-CFE0ADF80D8F/

John Rogers
http://www.scs.uiuc.edu/chem/faculty/John_Rogers.html

Rogers Research Group
http://rogers.mse.uiuc.edu/

Photos available for John Rogers' research on the retina
http://www.news.uiuc.edu/news/08/0806retina.html