Bioengineered corneas have restored the vision of 20 people , 14 of whom were unsighted before they received the implant . It ’s still early days , but the promise is that this method could allow an alternative to donated human corneas , which are in scarce demand .
The young study appear in the journalNature Biotechnologythis week .
scientist from Linköping University in Sweden made the bioengineered corneas out of collagen molecules derived from pig skin . Since this is a by - intersection of the food industry , it ’s a modest - cost material that ’s pronto available . what is more , they can be stash away for up to two old age after being made , as opposed to human giver corneas which call for to be used within a couple of weeks .
Cornea implant made of collagen protein from pig’s skin. Image credit: Thor Balkhed/Linköping University
“ We ’ve made important efforts to ensure that our conception will be widely usable and affordable by all and not just by the wealthy . That ’s why this technology can be used in all parts of the earthly concern ” , Mehrdad Rafat , leading study author from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Linköping University , said in astatement .
To try out out the viability of their bioengineered cornea , the squad provided them to surgeons in Iran and India , two land where there ’s live demand for corneas due to in high spirits stage of cecity and a want of treatment option .
The trial regard 20 hoi polloi with keratoconus , a condition where the eye ’s cornea becomes too thin or lose its round shape , ensue in impaired vision . Fourteen of these patient role were unsighted before the operation , while the remaining few were on the wand of suffer their sight or had severely impaired vision .
The surgery is designed to be as non - invasive as possible . It involve making a lowly scratch in the cornea using a optical maser ( although the cut can be made by hired man using simple surgical instrument if needs be ) and put in the transplanted cornea underneath the existing cornea . The patients are then simply give immunosuppressive eye drops and the job is done .
Two years after the operation , the research worker said there were no complication . They also noted that three of the participants who had been unsighted prior to the surgical procedure had 20/20 visual sense after the surgical operation .
More piece of work is want before this becomes a widely available option . This will involve large clinical studies , regulative approval , and so on . Nevertheless , the investigator are optimistic about their inquiry and believe it could render an easy , low - cost alternative to donated human corneas .
“ The effect show that it is possible to develop a biomaterial that gather all the criteria for being used as human implant , which can be good deal - produced and put in up to two yr and thereby reach even more people with vision problem . This gets us around the problem of shortage of donate corneal tissue and admission to other handling for centre diseases ” , bestow Neil Lagali , study writer and professor at the Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences at Linköping University .
