British Steve Verse became the first person in the world to have an eye prosthesis printed using a 3D printer.
As reported Daily mail, ophthalmologists from the British clinic Moorefields performed the first such operation in the world, installing a 3D-printed artificial eye.
Steve Verse lost his left eye at the age of 20 and used a prosthesis. However, every 5 years it had to be changed to a new one. The benefits of the “new eye” are undeniable:
it is more durable; it takes much less time to create; the new eye looks realistic and does not attract pesky attention.
Verse hopes that a flawlessly executed prosthesis will restore his self-confidence. The unusual operation was funded by the UK National Health System as part of a study. Experts are confident that the innovative technique will help solve a painful problem: now people who have lost an eye wait for their turn to have a prosthesis installed for 4-5 months after the operation. It takes another 6 weeks to make the prosthesis.
Printing an eye prosthesis on a 3D printer takes just over two hours, and together with the installation, the whole process will take no more than three weeks.