Recently for the first time in India, researchers in Hyderabad city have successfully 3D printed an artificial cornea and implanted it in a rabbit’s eye. Researchers from LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IITH), and Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) developed a 3D-printed cornea from human donor corneal tissue, a release said. collaborated to.
Highlights :-
The product, developed indigenously through government and philanthropic funding, is completely natural, contains no synthetic components, is free from animal residues and is safe to use in patients.
With recent advances in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, researchers from LVPEI, IITH and CCMB used decellularized corneal tissue matrix and stem cells derived from the human eye to develop a unique biomimetic hydrogel (patent pending), which can be used as background material. as was done.
Made from materials derived from human corneal tissue, 3D-printed corneas are biocompatible, natural, and free of animal residues.
Dr Sayan Basu and Dr Vivek Singh, lead researchers at LVPEI, said it is an important and disruptive treatment for diseases such as corneal scarring (where the cornea becomes opaque) or keratoconus (where the cornea gradually thins over time). It is possible
It is a product manufactured in India by an Indian physician-scientist team and is the first 3-D printed human cornea that is optically and physically suitable for transplantation. The bio-ink used to make this 3D printed cornea can be seen.
This research was funded by a grant from the Department of Biotechnology and translational work for clinical trials in patients will be funded through a grant from the Sri Padmavati Venkateswara Foundation, Vijayawada.