3D printed eye prosthesis helps normal eye socket growth in children with small eye deformities or no eye deformities

Release date: 2017-05-23

Small eye deformities and no eye deformities are congenital diseases. The former can cause the child's eyes to be seriously underdeveloped, and the latter can cause one or both eyes to become completely blind. In addition to causing blindness, these two diseases can also cause facial deformities, because without a full-size eye, the eye socket does not grow normally. If the eye socket does not expand normally, the area around the eye cannot expand normally, affecting the entire face.

For both diseases, doctors often make eye prostheses for patients. These prostheses can be spherical like natural eyeballs or cup shaped to fit an undeveloped eye. But these prostheses are not easy to manufacture, especially for babies. The ophthalmologist had to visualize the size of the eye socket, make a guess-based prosthesis, and then adjust it until it fits perfectly.

The whole process is very time consuming, but a growing baby does not leave too much time for the doctor. Without the eyeball to support the frame of the eye socket, the part of the skull actually sinks inward. So you need to put something on there quickly, like a 3D printed prosthesis.

Researchers at the Free University of Amsterdam (VU) Medical Center recently conducted a study in which five infants were fitted with 3D printed eye prostheses to promote the natural growth and formation of the eye sockets. The researchers used MRI scan data to assess eye malformation and orbital size, and even created a mold by injecting a soft gel into the orbit.

Using these data and the developmental data of natural eyes, the researchers produced a table of eye growth conditions for the next decade. Based on this speculation and scan data, they customized 3D printed eye prostheses for children, each corresponding to a child's growth stage. These 3D printed prostheses don't look like eyes, they are just opaque plastics, but they don't cause trauma or pain to your child. After receiving appropriate training, parents can easily put it in the child's eye socket. If desired, a more aesthetic prosthesis can be made for the child when it is older, but a 3D printed prosthesis will allow the child's face to develop normally.

After approximately one year of 3D printed prosthesis treatment, the eye socket size of the child doubled on average. The study is still ongoing. Although 3D printing does not restore the vision of children with small eye deformities or ocular malformations, it can help children get rid of the further damage caused by these two diseases.

Source: Tiangongshe