Scientists from the Don State Technical University are working on the creation of a keratoprosthesis - a corneal prosthesis - with improved characteristics and lower cost compared to those on the market.
According to the scientists, there is less donor corneal material than is needed - at the same time, it must be viable, biologically pure and match the recipient's cornea in terms of physical characteristics. Because of this, the cost of transplanting a donor cornea costs the patient an average of 300 thousand rubles in the absence of guarantees of its engraftment. Therefore, it is important not only to create a prosthesis that is as close as possible to the physical characteristics of the patient's cornea, but also to make it inexpensive.
When creating a prosthesis, researchers will not have to solve the direct problem (to create a material whose properties are known), but the reverse one - to select the most suitable material from a large number of options. To do this, they need to identify the mechanical properties of the cornea.
The cornea is a resilient, porous, fluid-filled material. It consists of several layers with unique properties. Determining these properties, the project participants explain, will make it possible to model a future prosthesis. Now scientists have completed the stage of mathematical modeling of the properties of the supporting material of the prosthesis, which will allow it to be successfully integrated into the biological environment of the eye.
In addition, it is necessary to solve the technical problem that ophthalmic surgeons faced when installing keratoprostheses.
“Existing prostheses in the place of “docking” of their supporting part with the eyeball have zones of stress due to the difference in the elasticity of the material of the prosthesis and the cornea, which leads to further degradation of the eye tissues. We conducted a series of tests to accurately determine the parameters of a possible material for which such a problem would not arise, ”Alexander Epikhin, a leading researcher at the DSTU Materials Research and Education Center, told RIA Novosti.
The task of scientists is to level this process by searching for biocompatible materials and suitable fastening. According to the project participants, this can be achieved by switching from the use of metal to polymers or by combining both groups of materials.
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