Bioengineered Implant Made of Collagen Protein Taken from Skin Pig Successfully Restores Vision of People with Diseased Corneas

Scientists and business owners recently developed an implant made of collagen protein from a pig's skin, resembling the human cornea.

In pilot research, the said implant was able to restore vision to 20 individuals with diseased corneas, most of whom were blind before receiving the implant, a EurekAlert report specified.

The study collaboratively led by researchers from Linköping University and LinkoCare Life Sciences AB showed promising results that bring hope to people who have corneal blindness and low vision by providing a bioengineered implant as a substitute for the transplantation of donated human corneas, which are short in supply in countries where the need for them is greatest.

The results revealed that it is possible to develop a biomaterial that meets all the criteria for being employed as human implants, which can be mass-produced and stored for up to two years and reach even more people suffering from vision problems.

This gets around the problem of scarcity of donated corneal tissue and access to other treatments for eye diseases, according to Neil Lagali from the Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences at LiU, one of the study authors behind this research.

Bioengineered Implants

An approximated 12.7 million people all over the world are blind because of their corneas which is the eye's outermost transparent layer, being impaired or diseased. Their only way of recovering vision is to get a transplanted cornea from a human donor.

Nonetheless, just one in 70 patients receive a cornea transplant. Moreover, most of those needing corneal transplants reside in low- and middle-income countries with very limited treatment access.

A related Neuroscience News report said that according to the researcher and entrepreneur behind the design and development of these implants, Mehrdad Rafat, the safety and efficacy of bioengineered implants have been the core of this project.

He is an adjunct associate professor and senior lecturer at the Department of Biomedical Engineering of LiU, and the founder and CEO of LinkoCare Life Sciences AB, which manufactures the bioengineered corneas used in this research.

Explaining their work, the company CEO said they had made substantial initiatives to guarantee that their invention would be widely available, not to mention affordable by all people, and not just by wealthy people. He added that this technology could be used anywhere in the world.

Collagen Molecules from Pig Skin

The cornea comprises the protein collagen primarily. To create a substitute for human cornea, the study investigators used collagen molecules from pig skin that were highly purified and produced under strict conditions for human use.

The pig skin used in this study published in Nature Biotechnology is a byproduct of the food industry, which makes it easy to access, not to mention economically beneficial.

In building the implant, the developers stabilized the loose collagen molecules, forming a robust and transparent material that could endure handling and implantation in the eye.

Whereas donated corneas need to be used within two weeks, the bioengineered corneas can be stored for up to two years before utilization.

Related information about bioengineered cornea is shown on CGTN's YouTube video below:

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