CorNeat KPro (artificial cornea)

2021: Start of artificial cornea implantation

At the end of January 2021, oculistic surgeons at the Rabin Medical Center in Israel successfully implanted the first artificial cornea in a blind patient. After rehabilitation, a 78-year-old man who lost his sight ten years ago was again able to read and recognize family members. In the near future, the operation is planned to be performed by nine more patients in Canada, France, Holland and the USA.

Typically, patients with an inferior or damaged cornea receive transplants from corpses. Since there are no blood vessels in the cornea, the transplant procedure becomes easier, and healing occurs easier and faster. But corneal grafts are not enough, so a synthetic option will certainly be a great option for a lot of people.

In Israel, the first artificial cornea was successfully implanted into a blind patient using CorNeat KPro

CorNeat KPro implant developed by the Israeli company CorNeat Vision consists of material, on structure similar to an extracellular matrix, and is fixed in a pocket between a conjunctiva and sklery eyes. This material is not biodegradable, but its physical structure and biochemical signals attract fibroblasts, which ensure the implantation of a foreign body into nearby natural tissues.

During the operation, the conjunctiva is disconnected from the sclera to form a pocket. The patient's cornea is removed, and threads are placed along its edge in the sclera, with the help of which an implant is sewn into the cornea. After implantation, the conjunctiva is again sutured back to the sclera. The whole operation takes about an hour, and the period of rehabilitation and engraftment of the implant lasts a little more than a week.

Although the artificial cornea was one of the first uses of the CorNeat material, it can also be used to repair other tissues and to implant medical sensors and internal devices.^[1]

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