Artificial cornea is coming

A good news for the blind people. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany have invented an artificial cornea that may well be the key to restoring sight for our people with damaged corneas.

“Our artificial corneas are based on a commercially available polymer which absorbs no water and allows no cells to grow on it,” says IAP project manager Dr. Joachim Storsberg.

Researchers in Dr. Karin Kobuch’s working group at Regensburg University Hospital have already tested these corneas in the laboratory and found that their cells graft very well at the edge and cease growing where the coating stops. The optical center of the implant thus remains clear. The first implants have already been tested in rabbits’ eyes - with promising results. If further tests are successful, the technology will be tried on humans in 2008.” Link