Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia have developed a system of implanting silicon chips into the eyes of cats suffering from an incurable disease that gradually causes blindness.

As the condition in cats is similar to retinitis pigmentosa, which affects humans, it is hoped the technology will help save the eyesight of tens of thousands of people every year.

Retinitis pigmentosa cause blindness by destroying photoreceptor cells – the rods and cones within the eye that detect light.

The silicon chips are less than 2mm wide and produce their own energy. Each chip is coated with 5,000 microphotodiodes that react to light and send signals along the optic nerve to the brain.

Clinical trials on humans have commenced and chips have been implanted in 30 people’s eyes. Scientists have said the results are encouraging.