With today’s lifelike prosthetic eyes, it’s easier for eye loss victims to blend in—but at night or in bright sunshine, having two different-sized pupils is a giveaway. A new invention features a cosmetic pupil that could give them a boost in confidence.
Researchers at Nottingham Trent University, in the UK, have developed a prosthetic eye prototype that incorporates smart materials to dilate and contract the pupil in response to a light sensor in the device. Because the prototype uses off-the-shelf electronics, the current model is about the size of a grapefruit. The researchers’ next step is to miniaturize it to the size of a human eye.
