A research collaboration from a number of German academic institutions is working on developing two different artificial corneas that may solve the persistent issue of a lack of donor corneas for patients that need them.
One of the devices, called ArtCornea, should actually be useful for people that aren’t viable candidates to accept a donor one. It was designed to promote the growth of cells around the perimeter of the artificial cornea, providing a safe, biocompatible seal to the eye that can last a lifetime. The second, named ACTO-TexKpro, is being looked into as a potential initial treatment for damaged corneas due to inflammation, or accident such as a burn or scratch. It works thanks to a material that aids the person’s corneal tissue to bind to the implant. The teams successfully tested the corneas in living rabbits whose eyes healed within six months and that seem to have adjusted well to their new prostheses.