The goal of the Stanford Artificial Retina Project is to develop an advanced artificial retina: an electronic implant that will restore vision to people blinded by incurable retinal disease. The consortium focuses on an innovative combination of basic and applied research to create a unique device capable of closely mimicking normal retinal function. In contrast to the approaches taken by other groups, this project aims to reproduce the precise retinal code at a cellular resolution with cell-type specificity, resulting in high-fidelity artificial vision.

To accomplish this goal, the Stanford Artificial Retina Project combines expertise in neurophysiology, electrical engineering, materials science, retinal surgery, visual behavior, and computational neuroscience. This collaboration is funded in part by the Stanford Neurotechnology Initiative, a Big Idea of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute.

The consortium envisions that development of this technology for interfacing effectively to the human visual system will speed the development of other high-fidelity neural implants of the future, for treating neurological disorders and eventually for expanding human capabilities. The technology will also enable new basic neuroscience research, allowing heretofore inaccessible insights into understanding how neural circuits in the brain function.