Restoring lost senses: One technology for both artificial vision and touch

by Chalmers University of Technology

edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Robert Egan

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Patients with untreatable conditions such as sight loss or loss of motor function could be closer to a viable technology for restoring their lost sense within a faster time frame. This is due to the discovery that advanced brain interfacing technology used for both touch and vision prostheses is, in fact, almost the same, despite being developed completely separately for more than 50 years.

The comprehensive review in which this discovery was first made is published in Nature Reviews Bioengineering and was led by Giacomo Valle, assistant professor at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden.

Despite being developed separately, brain-computer interfaces, or BCIs, are an emerging field of technology being used to restore more than one lost sense in the body, with visual cortical prostheses (VCP) for vision and somatosensory cortical prostheses (SCP) for touch.

BCIs work by implanting a microelectrode directly into the brain to enable direct communication between the brain and external devices (such as a camera or a bionic hand). They can bypass damaged pathways in the body by directly stimulating a specific region of the brain and mimicking a natural sensation in a patient.

"This technology presents a real step forward for patients with otherwise untreatable conditions in both the fields of sight loss and loss of motor function (such as paralysis), giving them the ability to control movements, communicate or regain tactile sensation or vision, which previously was not possible," says Valle.

One technology, two separate senses

Natural vision and touch have common neural and computational principles in the body, whereby complex information is gathered from the outside world (via the eye or the skin/hand) and converted into an electrical signal for the brain.

Both fields of research have therefore been able to use similar technology to replicate these sensations artificially, with the BCIs placed in different regions of the brain. Yet neither field has spoken to the other until now.

"Normally, people work on artificial touch or artificial vision. Researchers go to different conferences and deal with very different conditions and different patients, in different areas of the hospital. There has been parallel development for both senses, but we never talked about this on a global level. Until now, we hadn't seen this as a common challenge," says Valle.

The inspiration behind the review

The review paper "Restoring vision and touch with cortical microstimulation" compares visual and sensory prostheses side by side for the first time and discusses how the two fields of research can learn from each other.

It looks at how electrical stimulation of the cerebral cortex works, the types of electrodes used, how artificial visual and tactile experiences are created, the results of clinical trials to date, and what technical and clinical barriers remain.

"The idea of merging the two fields of research came from the last paper that I worked on. We were going beyond restoring a simple sense of touch, moving to more complex sensations. We had to consider how to restore the sense of an edge or tactile motion. And through research, I found that the field of artificial vision was looking at the same challenge, aiming for more complex artificial vision," says Valle.

He points out that in the past, sight loss and paralysis have been two very different fields of research, with unique challenges and different approaches to solving how to restore them in the body. But with the ongoing and rapid development of technology, these two fields have reached a coalescence.

"Hopefully, our paper opens doors for a beneficial collaboration between the two fields and brings us closer to one technology for both artificial vision and touch that would benefit both patient groups. I have a dream for the future that there is one department in the hospital where a patient can go for 'sense restoration' and our unified technology would be easily accessible for all," says Valle.

Publication details

Giacomo Valle et al, Restoring vision and touch with cortical microstimulation, Nature Reviews Bioengineering (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s44222-026-00449-z

Journal information: Nature Reviews Bioengineering

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Neurology Provided by Chalmers University of Technology Who's behind this story?

Sadie Harley

BSc Life Sciences & Ecology. Microbiology lab background with pharmaceutical news experience in oil, gas, and renewable industries. Full profile →

Robert Egan

Bachelor's in mathematical biology, Master's in creative writing. Well-traveled with unique perspectives on science and language. Full profile →

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