Harvesting solar energy to power ocular implants

A solar energy harvesting power supply has been developed for ocular implants. A photovoltaic array embedded under the eye´s conjunctiva coverts incident solar energy to electrical energy to be stored in a battery. We have shown that a photovoltaic array embedded under the conjunctiva, with an area of 62mm², when irradiated at 1mW/mm² of sunlight, can generate 1.22mW at the battery charging circuit´s output. This suggests the feasibility of powering ocular implants by scavenging solar energy from the environment.