Eye-opening research: Aarhus University hopes to give sight back to the blind

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Asbjørn Cortnum Jørgensen has dedicated his life to academic research for 25 years. Raised in Germany by Danish parents, he started life in Neuss, near Cologne and Düsseldorf. He has a master’s degree in molecular medicine and is motivated by finding innovation in crossing professional boundaries, which is why he embarked on a PhD at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Here he quickly had to learn a lot about programming and solar cells – subject areas that were unfamiliar territory for him.

PhD student Asbjørn Cortnum Jørgensen uses pig eyes from Danish Crown to test microscopic solar cells and is motivated by exploring the unknown and the possibility of running a research project himself.

The intersection has resulted in a project that has gained wings through the AUFF NOVA program from the Aarhus University Research Foundation, which supports projects that dare to think wild and big. He is conducting potentially groundbreaking research that could change many people’s lives if the final breakthrough comes.

Solar cells in the eyes

The research centers around implementing microscopic solar cells in the eye that can emit electrical impulses in response to light, with the goal of replacing defective photoreceptors in patients with Retinitis pigmentosa (a group of various inherited eye diseases). He combines this with an innovative gene therapy that recreates light perception in the neurons of the eye. The research is still at an early stage, but has the potential to cure blindness caused by a number of inherited diseases.

Asbjørn’s project combines electronic technology with biology to offer a so-called two-pronged treatment that can improve or partially restore vision in patients. It sounds pretty wild, and it is, as the biotech approach has the potential to change the lives of people around the world.

“Researchers elsewhere in the world have succeeded in implanting a similar implant in patients. They even got some of their vision back, but far from all of it, but from seeing nothing, rough silhouettes and light differences emerged. So the implants work, but not perfectly,” says Asbjørn via Aarhus University and continues:

– In my project, I’m trying a two-pronged approach. By supplementing the implant with a gene therapy, I hope the result will be even better.

Asbjørn is in the initial stages of his PhD project, but has already achieved promising results. His work is supported by the Aarhus University Research Foundation and is carried out in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team.