It creates infrared lenses that allow seeing in the dark, even with closed eyes
A multidisciplinary team of scientists has developed and tested contact lenses for people and mice that convert infrared light into visible light and It allows night visionEven with your eyes closed. The lenses, designed by a team of neuroscientists and scientists specializing in materials from China From the University of Massachusetts, they do not need an energy source and allow the user to receive several infrared lengths at the same time.
And existence transparentThey allow users to see both infrared and visible light, although infrared vision improved when the participants closed eyes, according to the authors of the study, which was published on Thursday in the magazine Cell Press.
“Our research opens the possibility that unintegrated mobile devices Give people the supervisory“The lead author, Tian Xue, Neuroscience from the University of Science and Technology in China, said.” There are many possible applications for this article. For example, infrared light can be used to transfer this information in safety, rescue, encryption or fight against forgery.
The nanoparticles that discover the light
Contact lens technology is used nanoparticles They absorb light with infrared And make them visible wavelengths for mammals. These nanoparticles allow the detection of “nearby infrared light”, that is, light in the range of 800-1600 nm, which is a little less than the red light that humans can see.
In previous studies, the team has already proven that the aforementioned nanoparticles allowed to see infrared in mice when they are injected into the retina, but they wanted an alternative design Least. To implement them, they merged nanoparticles with non -toxic elastic polymers such as those used in standard soft contact lenses and after proving that they are safe, they tested them in people and mice.
It was in the tests when they verified that the mice that carry the lenses seem to see Infrared wavelengths. For example, when they were chosen between a dark box and another infrared, they chose mice with the dark box lenses, while mice without lenses did not show any preference. Mice also showed physiological signs of infrared vision: mice students were contracted with contact lenses in the presence of infrared light, and brain photos revealed that infrared light made visual treatment centers light.
In the people who tested them, infrared lenses allowed the participants to accurately reveal intermittent signals similar to those in Morse symbol And realizing the direction of light in the infrared contained. Xue says: “It is very clear: Without the lenses, the topic cannot see anything, but with it, you can see the infrared light flash.” “We also discover this when the individual is Close your eyesIt is more able to receive this information Flash, because close infrared light penetrates the eyelid more effectively than visible light, so there are less visible light interventions, “he says.
Color coding
These contact lenses allow users to distinguish between different shades of light infrared to encryption By colors Various wavelengths of the various infrared radiation. For example, infrared wavelengths have become 980 nm as a blue light, and those with 808 nm in green light and those with 1532 nm in red light.
This progress, as well as allowing users to realize more details within the infrared spectrum, may help the Dalton to see unveiled lengths. “By converting visible red light into something similar to visible green light, this technology It can make an invisible visible DalonicXue says.
Until now, contact lenses can only discover infrared radiation from the LED light source, but the equipment works on Increased allergy From nanoparticles so that they can discover lower levels of infrared light. “In the future, work with scientists from materials and experts in optics, we hope to make a more accurate and sensitive communication lens,” Xue is advancing.
