Conventionally, patients requiring an eye prosthesis receive a painted acrylic eye. During a two-hour session, the eye socket is moulded to create a comfortable prosthetic; this invasive procedure can be so difficult that it can require a general anaesthetic when the patient is a child. The eye is then painted. This process takes six weeks.
The 3D-printed eye is more realistic, having clearer definition and “real depth” to the pupil. For conventional acrylic eyes, the iris is hand-painted onto a black disc embedded in the prosthesis, meaning that light cannot pass the full depth of the eye, while light can interact more naturally with the 3D-printed prosthesis.
However, a 3D-printed prosthetic is not only more realistic but also reduces the manufacturing process to two to three weeks. The initial appointment to measure the eye socket – which uses only a non-invasive scan rather than taking a mould – takes just half an hour, Moorfields Eye Hospital said...