People who lose one eye have the option to get a fake eye (also called glass eye) – a prosthetic eye that helps them improve their appearance. This lifelike prosthetic eye is typically made from acrylic and is handmade by technicians called ocularists. The current process of manually creating prosthetic eyes are invasive and lengthy. In addition, even though prosthetic eyes are durable, they need to be replaced periodically, adding regular maintenance and additional costs to the overall process.
Recently, Steve Verze received the very first 3D printed prosthetic eye from Fraunhofer Technology as a permanent replacement to his traditional prosthetic eye. Fraunhofer’s new technologies supersede the totally manual process of creating prosthetic eyes by using a 3D scan of the eye socket (done in 2.4 seconds) and a color calibrated photo of the healthy eye to create the prosthetic eye’s 3D model. That model is then printed on a multi-color, multi-material 3D printer and given final touches by an ocularist.
Steve’s 3D printed prosthetic eye is a precursor to a clinical study that will study the effectiveness of 3D printed eyes vs. traditional and will look at various factors like motility (movement), cosmos is (look), fit, comfort, and more.
Watch the video below and read the source link to learn more about Steve’s new 3D printed prosthetic eye.
Source: Global News Wire
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