The technology, based around an "organic semiconductor" called pentacene (a hydrocarbon molecule) and a comparative instrument known as a Wheatstone bridge, can be embedded in fabrics such as undershirts and coupled with wireless transmitters.

ENGADGET: "Organic semiconductors" help researchers monitor your heart

The goal was to substitute photoreceptors with a light-sensitive material capable of restoring photosensitivity to the retina, by easing down the retina on a layer of organic photovoltaic semiconductor.

FORBES: Artificial Retina From A Photovoltaic Polymer

The material is an organic photovoltaic semiconductor (called rr-P3HT) which, unlike the metal or silicon-based materials used until now for such biotechnological interfaces, is soft, light, flexible and highly biocompatible and naturally sensitive to visible light.

FORBES: Artificial Retina From A Photovoltaic Polymer