UT Dallas Materials Scientist Research Contributes to Invention Recognized by Time Magazine

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Newswise A device created by an interdisciplinary group of researchers, including a UT Dallas professor, was recently named one of the best inventions of 2013 by Time magazine.

The Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System restores partial vision to people blind from eye diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration. It earned recognition as one of the 25 Best Inventions of the Year 2013 in the Nov. 25 edition of Time. It is one of five inventions featured in the accompanying video available on the magazines website.

The device was developed by a group of researchers from five national laboratories, four universities and Second Sight Medical Products. Dr. Orlando Auciello, an endowed chair professor of materials science and engineering and bioengineering in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, was part of the team from Argonne National Laboratory that worked on the device.

While at Argonne, Auciello worked on the fundamental and applied research to develop a special coating now known as ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) film that protects the silicon microchip from being attacked by the saline in the eye. Without the layer of protection, the saline would destroy the microchip.

The big problem is that you cannot put a silicon chip inside the eyes just as it is because it will be attacked by the saline solution in the eyes, Auciello said. My participation in Argus II was to develop the UNCD film as a unique biocompatible coating to encapsulate the silicon chip and protect it from the attack by the saline solution. My team developed it, and it works beautifully.

The silicon microchip has been incorporated into the Argus II device, which currently includes a camera mounted in eyeglasses that captures images and transmits them as electronic signals to the UNCD-coated microchip located on the eye. The microchip is connected to an array of electrodes via platinum wires that sends the images to the brain for recognition. Auciello also contributed to developing materials that help the microchip process the electronic signals.

This technology is the result of incremental research conducted before all the potential benefits were fully known, Auciello said. This was a big interdisciplinary program involving physicists, materials scientists, electronic engineers, biologists, medical doctors and surgeons."

From 1996 to 2012, Dr. Orlando Auciello worked at Argonne National Laboratory, first as a senior scientist, then as a distinguished fellow. It was during this time that he led the team that produced ultrananocrystalline diamond, which is revolutionizing integration of silicon in certain electronic devices.

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UT Dallas Materials Scientist Research Contributes to Invention Recognized by Time Magazine