In a new advancement that could benefit the blind, researchers from the University of Minnesota could successfully 3D print an arrangement of light receptors on a curved plane, which could be the preceding steps to building a ‘bionic eye.'

"Bionic eyes are usually thought of as science fiction, but now we are closer than ever using a multi-material 3D printer," noted Michael McAlpine, co-author of the study and University of Minnesota Benjamin Mayhugh Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Their paper was recently published in a materials science peer-reviewed scientific journal, Advanced Materials.

For the hour-long process, the team used their tailor-made 3D printer, incorporated with a silver particle based foundation ink, to draw on a hemispherical shell made out of glass, carrying out the tricky task of printing electronics on rounded planes without it dripping down. The ink remained on the surface and dried homogeneously. Subsequently, photodiodes, that transform light into electricity, were printed with the help of semiconducting polymer materials.

They were amazed to see 25% success in transforming the light into electricity with the semiconductors which were entirely 3D printed, exclaimed McAlpine.

"We have a long way to go to routinely print active electronics reliably, but our 3D-printed semiconductors are now starting to show that they could potentially rival the efficiency of semiconducting devices fabricated in microfabrication facilities," McAlpine said. "Plus, we can easily print a semiconducting device on a curved surface, and they can't."

The ‘bionic ear’ that surfaced in the news in the recent past, was an invention by the same team. They have gained fame for incorporating biology, 3D printing and electronics together on the same plane.

McAlpine aspires to build a prototype with added high-efficiency light receptors in the future and also look for a soft rounded plane to be implanted in the living eye.