A Moorfields Eye Hospital patient in the UK will be the first to benefit solely from a fully digital 3D printed prosthetic eye. Steve Verze, an engineer, will go home from the Old Street hospital with only a printed eye fitted that day. He first tried his eye on November 11 alongside a traditional acrylic prosthetic.
This new 3D printing process avoids the invasive process of making a mould of the eye socket: a procedure so difficult that in children it can require putting them under general anaesthetic.
Steve said: “I’ve needed a prosthetic since I was 20, and I’ve always felt self-conscious about it. When I leave my home I often take a second glance in the mirror, and I’ve not liked what I’ve seen. This new eye looks fantastic and, being based on 3D digital printing technology, it’s only going to be better and better.”
Professor Mandeep Sagoo, consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields and professor of ophthalmology at the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital UCL and Institute of Ophthalmology, said: “We are excited about the potential for this fully digital prosthetic eye.
“We hope the forthcoming clinical trial will provide us with robust evidence about the value of this new technology, showing what a difference it makes for patients. It clearly has the potential to reduce waiting lists.”
The printed eye is more realistic, with clearer definition and giving real depth to the pupil. The way light travels through the full depth of the printed eye is more natural than current prosthetics, which simply have the iris hand-painted onto a black disc embedded in the eye, with no light passage through the eye.
The current process can take six weeks but 3D printing halves that time, and the scanning ensures a precise fit.
Source: Islington Gazette
