Artificial corneas and retinas

The Miami Herald reports that in developing countries, the need for donor corneas largely exceeds the supply, making the laboratory-developed artificial cornea all the more important.

Researchers from Miami's Bascom Palmer Eye Institute have been at the forefront of its development. Eduardo Alfonso, M.D., interim chair of the institute, explained that doctors prefer donor corneas, because artificial ones are still in the testing phase, though results in the past few years have been good. And, like the human cornea, the synthetic cornea is made in the same curved shape.

Even though artificial corneas are not yet perfect, Alfonso and his team are also starting new projects, including development of an artificial retina and artificial vision technology, in which images processed by the brain would use information that doesn't come from the eyes -- especially useful for those who are completely blind.

Posted in: artificial cornea, bascom palmer, transplant