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Jilly_in_VA

(10,875 posts)
Thu Nov 25, 2021, 03:14 PM Nov 2021

British man given 3D printed eye in world first, hospital says

A British man has become the first patient in the world to be fitted with a 3D printed eye, according to Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.

Steve Verze, who is 47 and an engineer from Hackney, east London, was given the left eye on Thursday and first tried it for size earlier this month.
Moorfields Eye Hospital said in a press release Thursday that the prosthetic is the first fully digital prosthetic eye created for a patient.
The eye is more realistic than other alternatives, and is designed to have "clearer definition and real depth to the pupil," the hospital said.

Other prosthetic eyes consist of an iris hand-painted onto a disc that is then embedded into the eye socket.

http://www.cnn.com/2021/11/25/health/3d-printed-eye-scli-intl-gbr-scn/index.html

8 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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British man given 3D printed eye in world first, hospital says (Original Post) Jilly_in_VA Nov 2021 OP
Wow Oh Wow Me. Nov 2021 #1
Gotta love science. Joinfortmill Nov 2021 #2
My grandmother lost an eye at 16 Jilly_in_VA Nov 2021 #3
Sound like it is cosmetic, not prosthetic. . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Nov 2021 #4
They are all prosthetic Jilly_in_VA Nov 2021 #6
I take cosmetic to mean for looks and prosthetic to mean for function (seeing in this case) Bernardo de La Paz Nov 2021 #7
Cool LetMyPeopleVote Nov 2021 #5
Thank you for this news! Cha Nov 2021 #8

Jilly_in_VA

(10,875 posts)
3. My grandmother lost an eye at 16
Thu Nov 25, 2021, 03:34 PM
Nov 2021

She had some form of meningitis that caused her to lose it. The prosthetic eye she had was the best they could do at the time(1901). The disease derailed her whole life; she'd been a freshman at University of Chicago, intending to study medicine, and had to drop out. I really don't know the whole story as I got it third hand from my brother who heard it from our uncle. I suspect she may have been on scholarship of some kind. But she was a prodigious reader and pushed her sons to get their educations. When I knew her she read at least two newspapers daily and followed national news faithfully. I didn't know about the prosthetic eye until after her death; I just thought she had a droopy eyelid. This would have made a great difference to her.

Jilly_in_VA

(10,875 posts)
6. They are all prosthetic
Fri Nov 26, 2021, 07:38 AM
Nov 2021

but this one will look more realistic. None of them "see" for their owners....yet. One day......

Bernardo de La Paz

(50,878 posts)
7. I take cosmetic to mean for looks and prosthetic to mean for function (seeing in this case)
Fri Nov 26, 2021, 08:01 AM
Nov 2021

... but upon looking it up, prosthetic does seem to have a broader meaning than I thought.

Functionality doesn't seem to be necessary, at least for this definition.

pros·thet·ics
/präsˈTHedik/
adjective: prosthetic

1.
denoting an artificial body part, such as a limb, a heart, or a breast implant.
"he wears prosthetic legs because his own were amputated"
denoting a material designed to alter a person's physical appearance temporarily.
"an actor transformed by layers of prosthetic makeup"



cos·met·ic
/käzˈmedik/
adjective: cosmetic

involving or relating to treatment intended to restore or improve a person's appearance.

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