Image from Imec
Imec and Ghent University are touting an artificial iris embedded in a smart contact lens for treating human eye iris deficiencies.
With partners at the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Fundación Jiménez Diaz in Madrid, along with the Holst Centre in the Netherlands, Imec and Ghent presented the artificial iris as a device that is tunable through concentric rings on an integrated liquid crystal display (LCD).
The lens is designed with an ultra-low-power design so that it can operate for an entire day, offering solutions for those with deficiencies such as aniridia, keratoconus and light sensitivity or photophobia by expanding visual sharpness, decreasing optical aberrations and reducing the amount of light entering the eye, according to a news release.
Following last week’s presentation of the device, the prototype is set to be further developed into a medical device within the framework of the spin-off incubation Azalea Vision through Imec and Ghent. The team is seeking to validate the device with patients and volunteers under clinical investigations in an effort to provide a safe device for these disorders.
“It is Imec’s aim to create added value for the society and bring our research to the market”, Imec president & CEO Luc Van den hove said in the release. “We are convinced that this artificial iris prototype has all the potential to become a game-changer in ophthalmic treatment. Therefore, we have launched an incubation project together with imec.xpand to fully support the team’s ambition to mature and validate the technology and support their efforts to commercialize via a strong business case as a spin-off.”
