A 78-year-old man who has been blind in both eyes for ten years recently regained his sight after receiving an implant with an artificial cornea developed by the Israeli company Corneat Vision . The day after the operation, the bandage could be removed and the man could immediately recognize present family members and read a text.
Now it is far from the first time an artificial cornea has been implanted. Researchers at Linköping University did so, for example, as early as 2007. But Corneat Vision’s implants should be easier to operate on.
CorNeat KPro, as the artificial cornea is called, is made to easily get in the right place. Then just sew on the implant and give the patient some time for recovery. While other methods require specialist surgeons to complete the procedure, all eye surgeons should be able to learn this method in just a few days according to Corneat Vision.
This means that significantly more surgeons can carry out the treatment and this of course means that many more patients can regain their sight.
Another method that has been used for many years already is to take a real cornea from a donor and transplant it. The problem with this is, of course, that donors are needed and there is a shortage of them. According to Corneat Vision, the need for corneas is 70 times greater than the supply.
With a cornea that is both mass-produced and easy to operate on, Corneat Vision hopes to be able to help millions of people around the world regain their sight. Something that will surely be an emotional moment for many.
– After years of hard work, it was very emotional to see a colleague simply implant Kpro and then see a fellow human being be able to see again the day after the procedure. There were many tear-filled eyes in the room that day, says Gilad Litvin, co-founder of Corneat Vision in a comment to Israel Hayom.
