Researchers in Optogenetics at Israel’s Technion are working on a substitute for damaged retinas. A light-sensitive protein can turn the ganglion cells in the eye into photoreceptors. Visual images projected onto these cells stimulate neurons and recreate the image in the brain. Watch this space!
http://www1.technion.ac.il/_local/includes/blocks/news-items/130227-shay213/news-item-en.htm