In a first, scientists successfully 3D print human eye corneas

Seems like scientists believe that since 3D printers can print almost everything so why not 3D print actual human eye corneas, as this is exactly what they have done.

Numerous people around the world need cornea transplants with a scarcity of corneas, because of which scientists from Newcastle University have developed a bio-ink through which they successfully 3D printed human corneas.

Futurism explains that cornea is the outermost layer at the front of human eye and can be damaged by disease or injury, resulting in vision problems or even blindness. The only treatment for this is a cornea transplant. Where 15 million people require donor corneas, only 44,000 transplants are conducted annually. Due to this lack of cornea transplants, 3D printed corneas were created.

As published in the journal Experimental Eye Research, scientists explained how stem cells from a healthy donor cornea were mixed together with two chemicals, alginate and collagen, for creating a solution that could be printed, bio-ink.

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They then made use of an inexpensive 3D bio-printer to make their cornea within 10 minutes. The scientists used a scan of a person’s eye to make out cornea’s dimensions, making sure that it would be an ideal match for a recipient’s eye size and shape.

When the corneas were printed, the team let the stem cells grow around the scaffolding provided by the alginate and collagen gel. Around 83% of the specific kind of cornea cell called keratocytes were still alive a week after print, a result that indicated that the cells could replace human corneas.

Lead researcher Che Connon said, “Many teams across the world have been chasing the ideal bio-ink to make this process feasible. Our unique gel - a combination of alginate and collagen - keeps the stem cells alive whilst producing a material which is stiff enough to hold its shape but soft enough to be squeezed out the nozzle of a 3D printer.”

Video Courtesy: Newcastle University

However, Connon agrees that these corneas will still take a lot of time to be practically operational and be used in operating rooms. The team wants to further test that all the kinds of cells in the corneas are performing tasks they are supposed to before testing them in living organisms.

“Our 3D printed corneas will now have to undergo further testing and it will be several years before we could be in the position where we are using them for transplants. However, what we have shown is that it is feasible to print corneas using coordinates taken from a patient eye and that this approach has potential to combat the world-wide shortage,” said Connon.