LONDON. Implanted in England, for the first time in the world, a fully digital 3D printed prosthetic eye. The patient, Steve Verze, is a 47-year-old engineer. The surgery was performed at London’s Moorfields Eye Hospital. Verze first tried her new eye on November 11, along with a traditional acrylic prosthesis. On November 25, he returned home with only his 3D printed eye. “I’ve needed an ocular prosthesis since I was 20 and have always felt uncomfortable,” Verze said. “This new eye looks fantastic.”
Compared to the traditional acrylic prosthesis, the 3D printed ocular prosthesis is more realistic and defined, and gives the perception of the real depth of the pupil. Unlike traditional methods, it uses eye scans instead of an invasive mold of the eye socket. The speed of the production process, the hospital points out, is also an element that could favor the use of 3D printed ocular prostheses. Traditional acrylic prosthetic eyes are hand painted and take about six weeks to complete. With 3D printing, once scanned, the prosthesis can be printed within two and a half hours. It is then sent to an ophthalmologist to be finished, polished and adapted. The whole process takes only two or three weeks. ” ‘We are excited about the potential of this fully digital prosthetic eye,’ says Professor Mandeep Sagoo, eye care consultant at Moorfields Eye Hospital. “The hope is that the upcoming clinical trial will provide solid evidence on the value of this new technology, showing the difference it makes to patients and its usefulness in reducing waiting lists.”