In this paper, we present the prototype of an ophthalmoscope that uses structured illumination microscopy (SIM) to enable super-resolved imaging of the human retina, and give first insights into clinical application possibilities. The SIM technique was applied to build a prototype that uses the lens of the human eye as an objective to ‘super-resolve’ the retina of a living human. In our multidisciplinary collaboration, we have adapted this well-established technique in ophthalmology and successfully imaged a human retina using significantly lower light intensity than a state-of-the-art ophthalmoscope. Here, we focus on the technical implementation and highlight future perspectives of this method. A more application-oriented note for physicians on the diagnostic and disease-preventive value of this method, as well as the medical results of the clinical study carried out, will be published in a report addressed to an appropriate specialist audience. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Super-resolution structured illumination microscopy (part 2)’.