There’s a new technology that restores the vision of people afflicted with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Researchers in Stanford University led by Daniel Palanker developed the photovoltaic retina implant microarray (PRIMA) system that restores the blurred or reduced central vision caused by AMD. The ultra-thin wireless microchip contains 378 photovoltaic cells to replace the function of the eyes’ damaged rod and cone cells, the New York Post reported.

The PRIMA is implanted under the part of the eye’s retina called the macula. The patient uses a special pair of glasses with a built-in video camera to capture scenes and an infrared projector sends the images as light to the PRIMA. When the light hits the tiny photovoltaic pixels in the chip, it generates an electrical pulse that stimulates the retina’s neurons or cells, which transmit visual signals or information to the brain.

In clinical trials of the PRIMA implant, patients with advanced AMD could read large letters and recognize high-contrast shapes in low resolution and monochrome (black-and-white), according to Stanford Medicine and Live Science.

Meanwhile, a new technique for creating an alternative to tooth implants has been developed by dental researchers at King’s College London (KCL).

Mouse embryonic cells are injected into hydrogel to grow for eight days in the lab. When the cells develop into a tooth structure complete with roots and enamel, it is transferred into a mouse to continue growing, CNN reports, citing the works of Ana Angelova Volponi, director of the postgraduate program in regenerative dentistry at KCL.

The successful experiment moves the researchers up to the next step of using adult human cells to grow a tooth in the lab using the same medium for embedding in the jaw socket left by an extracted tooth.

Once embedded, it will fully grow into a natural tooth from the bone and the ligament to replace the one that was lost.