I-Corps: Three-Demensional Printing of a Customizable Accommodating Intraocular Lens

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

Cataract surgery is the most common surgery in the US, with an estimated 3 million per annum. The surgery involves the removal of the cloudy intraocular lens (IOL) due to a cataract growth that prevents patients from seeing clearly. While there has been advancement in instruments that remove the lens, there remains a great demand to improve replacement IOLs such that patients no longer require spectacles after surgery. Often times, due to anatomical differences between patients and variability in the patient's reaction to existing IOLs, patients may suffer from presbyopia or difficulty to focus on close objects. Nearly 50% of cataract surgeries result in need for spectacles. This I-Corps team is working to commercialize a personalized intraocular lens manufactured utilizing platform three-dimensional (3D) printing technology. Developed by prominent Northwestern University engineering faculty, this patent pending technology can allow ophthalmologists to individually tailor for each patient a replacement lens that has been designed to bio-mimic the natural lens. This significant improvement has the potential to yield fewer surgical complications and eliminate the need for glasses after cataract surgery, improving patient satisfaction and quality of life.