Axorus is creating a novel neuroprosthetic solution for vision restoration in patients with retinal degeneration (e.g. dry AMD or retinitis pigmentosa). Unlike traditional retinal implants, Axorus’s approach – a photoacoustic contact lens called Argus – is entirely non-invasive, using ultrasonic stimulation of retinal cells to evoke visual signals.

The Axorus system consists of a smart contact lens and a pair of laser-projecting glasses. The contact lens, when worn on the eye, contains special materials that generate ultrasound in response to pulsed laser light from the glasses. When the user wears the glasses, an invisible laser pattern (encoding visual information from a camera) is shone onto the lens. The lens then converts this light into microscale ultrasonic waves (via the photoacoustic effect) that propagate into the eye and stimulate the surviving neurons of the retina. By adjusting the laser pattern rapidly, different retinal locations can be stimulated, effectively “writing” images onto the retina with ultrasound. This genetic-free neuromodulation bypasses lost photoreceptors and directly activates the visual pathways, all without surgery.

Axorus’s technology is aimed at patients who are blind from outer retinal diseases (like advanced macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa). These individuals currently have few options; Axorus’s contact lens could allow them to perceive light, shapes, or potentially more detailed vision with training. Being non-invasive, the solution could be deployed and removed daily just like a regular contact lens, which is far less risky than permanent implants. It is currently in preclinical trials, where it has shown that photoacoustic stimulation can activate retinal cells and visual brain areas in vivo. If successful, Axorus’s approach would herald a new class of wearable neuroprosthetics – effectively bionic contact lenses – opening vision restoration to a wider range of patients by eliminating surgical barriers and leveraging advanced photonics and materials science in neurotech.