Swiss National Science Founda­tion (SNSF) and German Research Founda­tion (DFG) support the devel­op­ment of novel retinal implants

Hector Fellow Eberhart Zrenner from the Univer­sity of Tübin­gen and Hector Fellow Jürg Leuthold from ETH Zurich have each received funding of around 600,000 euros per research group from the Swiss National Science Founda­tion (SNSF) and the German Research Founda­tion (DFG) for the devel­op­ment of a new type of electronic retinal implant. The aim of the joint project is to develop a new retinal sensor for blind people that not only achieves a signif­i­cant increase in resolu­tion compared to previ­ous models, but also in the day/night perfor­mance range.

This inter­dis­ci­pli­nary project was made possi­ble thanks to an initial funding from the Hector Fellow Academy. The Hector Fellow Academy has already supported the devel­op­ment of novel sensors, electrode fields and stimu­la­tion algorithms for several years by enabling young scien­tists Dr. Shadi Midhat Nashashibi, Dr. Wadood Haq and Marina Homs to complete their doctor­ates in this project and thus success­fully carry out impor­tant initial research work for the realiza­tion of the next gener­a­tion of retinal implants.

The promo­tion of inter­dis­ci­pli­nary exchange between the members of the Academy, who work together across the bound­aries of individ­ual research insti­tu­tions and across differ­ent disci­plines, is a central concern of the Hector Fellow Academy. It there­fore provides person­nel and research funding for innov­a­tive scien­tific projects carried out jointly by several Hector Fellows.