Vision checks optical characteristics of artificial corneas

摘要

Corneal blindness resulting from disease or physical injury affects thousands of people worldwide. In many cases, corneal transplants from donors can restore their vision. However, the shortage of suitable donor corneas has created the need to develop alternative treatments. A common option is to replace a diseased cornea with an artificial cornea in a surgical procedure known as keratoprosthesis. In the procedure, the artificial corneas, which are made of clear plastic with excellent tissue tolerance and optical properties, are implanted into the eye by ophthalmologists, often on an outpatient basis. One company actively involved in the development of such artificial corneas is Oxford MEStar, founded by Professor Zhanfeng Cui of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering of Oxford University.