A New Pair of Eyes

Introduction

Biosynthetic corneas can help regenerate and repair damaged eye tissue in humans. Researchers from Ottawa University in Canada and Sweden's Linkoping University grew a synthetic form of human collagen in the lab and moulded it into wafer-thin button shapes to create artificial corneas.

They coaxed eye's own natural cornea cells and nerves to grow back using collagen as a scaffold. The artificially fabricated cornea integrate with human eye easily. The rejection rate of the corneas is also low in comparison to corneal grafts and can help restore sight in millions of people waiting for a donated human cornea for transplantation.

Source

Down To Earth, September 2010