The world’s first real human corneas have 3D printed by scientists at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom. There is a significant shortage of corneas available for transplant. This printing technique could be used to ensure an unlimited supple of corneas in the future.
The cornea has an important role in focusing vision and it is the outermost layer of the human eye. According to the statistics, there are about 10 million people worldwide who need surgery to prevent corneal blindness which cause from trachoma, an infectious eye disorder. And also there are 5 million people who suffer total blindness due to the corneal scarring caused by burns, lacerations, abrasion or disease.
Published in Experimental Eye Research is the report on how stem cell (human corneal stromal cells) from a healthy donor cornea was mixed together with alginate and collagen to create a solution that could be printed, a ‘bio-ink”. By using a simple low-cost 3D bio-printer, this bio-ink was successfully extruded in concentric circles to form the shape of a human cornea. It takes over 5 minutes to this whole printing procedure. Then the stem cells were then shown to culture (grow).
According to the person who led the work, Che Connon, Professor of Tissue Engineering at Newcastle University, “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. This builds upon our previous work in which we kept cells alive for weeks at room temperature within a similar hydrogel. Now we have a ready to use bio-ink containing stem cells allowing users to start printing tissues without having to worry about growing the cells separately.”
Professor Connon added, “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 coordinated taken from a patient eye and that this approach has potential to combat the worldwide shortage.”
It is also proved that they could build a cornea to match a patient’s unique specifications. They only need to scan patients’ eyes, and then use the data to rapidly print a cornea which matched the size and shape.
This is a mind-boggling discovery of science and it can improve our lives in unimaginable ways. Once they perfect the technology, these artificial corneas could actually restore eyesight to millions of blind or partially blind people. It can give someone back the gift of sight.
According to Dr Neil Ebenezer, director of research, policy and innovation at Fight for Sight, “We are delighted at the success of researchers at Newcastle University in developing 3D printing of corneas using human tissue. This research highlights the significant progress that has been made in this area and this study is important in bringing us one step closer to reducing the need for donor corneas, which would positively impact some patients living with sight loss. However, it is important to note that this is still years away from potentially being available to patients and it is still vitally important that people continue to donate corneal tissue for transplant as there is a shortage within the UK.”