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

白内障手术是美国最常见的手术，估计每年有300万例。该手术包括移除浑浊的人工晶状体（IOL），这是由于白内障生长导致患者看不清东西。虽然移除晶状体的工具已经有了很大的进步，但仍有很大的需求来改进人工晶状体的替代，使患者在手术后不再需要眼镜。通常情况下，由于患者解剖结构的差异以及患者对现有iol反应的差异，患者可能会出现老花眼或难以聚焦近距离物体。近50%的白内障手术需要配戴眼镜。I-Corps团队正致力于商业化利用平台三维（3D）打印技术制造的个性化人工晶状体。这项正在申请专利的技术是由美国西北大学著名的工程学院开发的，它可以让眼科医生为每位患者量身定制一种生物模拟天然晶状体的替代晶状体。这一显著的改进有可能减少手术并发症，并消除白内障手术后对眼镜的需求，提高患者的满意度和生活质量。

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.