Retinal prostheses aimed at stimulating retinal ganglion cells hold promise for restoring vision in patients with photoreceptor degeneration, such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration. Current clinically approved retinal prostheses utilizing electrical stimulation have limited spatial resolution due to electrical spread, resulting in vision restoration not even up to the threshold of legal blindness. Optogenetic approaches offer greater spatial precision but are hindered by lower temporal fidelity and safety concerns due to the high intensity of light required for stimulation.

In this study, we present a novel hybrid approach that combines optogenetic and electrical stimulation of retinal ganglion cells. Through ex vivo retinal electrophysiology experiments, including patch clamping and calcium imaging, we demonstrated that hybrid stimulation could lower optogenetic activation thresholds and enhance high-frequency responses without compromising spatial resolution. Our findings suggest that integrating hybrid stimulation into future retinal prostheses could improve the safety, efficiency, and resolution of vision restoration.