Biophysicists at the University of South Florida have developed a design for artificial corneas using tiny collagen fibres extracted from sea cucumbers, which may prove a boon to people whose corneas have damaged.
Creating such a design for corneas as is optically clear in the middle and biocompatible at the edges has been a challenge for scientists.
Artificial Cornea Gives True Rays Of Hope
Narayana Nethralaya in Bangalore has proudly announced the success of India's first artificial corneal implant surgery.
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Garret Matthews, a biophysicist behind the latest work, says that the new design for artificial corneas is an answer for these challenges, reports New Scientist magazine.
Sea cucumbers are sausage-shaped echinoderms, most species of which live on the sea floor in a variety of marine environments around of the globe.
![Anatomy of the Eye - Animation]( "Anatomy of the Eye - Animation")
Interactive section of Medindia gives details regarding anatomy of the Eye
For making the artificial cornea, the researchers extracted tiny collagen fibres from sea cucumbers. Upon being placed in a centrifuge, the fibres self assemble into layers in which the fibres are aligned vertically, a structure that is very similar to the tissue in mammalian corneas.
The process led to the creation of a thin layer of material that is transparent and biocompatible, as well as cheap and easy to make, say the researchers.
Source: ANI
SRM/C
Anatomy of the Eye - Animation
Interactive section of Medindia gives details regarding anatomy of the Eye
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For making the artificial cornea, the researchers extracted tiny collagen fibres from sea cucumbers. Upon being placed in a centrifuge, the fibres self assemble into layers in which the fibres are aligned vertically, a structure that is very similar to the tissue in mammalian corneas.
The process led to the creation of a thin layer of material that is transparent and biocompatible, as well as cheap and easy to make, say the researchers.
Source: ANI
SRM/C
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