Contact lenses have been greatly accepted as a vision correcting optical device and also as an excellent alternative to glasses. Such lenses are now to be used in a special treatment for eyes with problems of cornea. This new form of sight restoration by healing the cornea is said to be a safer and cost effective method as opposed to the surgical or other methods.
The procedure involves some stem cells from the patient to be grown on the lens. It is then to be kept for 10 days after which the lens has to worn by the patient so that the cells get transferred to the eye for healing the damaged cornea. The patient undergoing this treatment has a local anesthetic and within two hours is discharged. As of now this process has been applicable for corneal treatment but researchers from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia are also hoping to use the similar technique for retina or other damaged parts like the skin.
Dr. Nick Di Girolamo from the research team states that “Unlike other techniques, it requires no foreign human or animal products, only the patient’s own serum, and is completely non-invasive. There’s no suturing, there is no major operation. You don’t need any fancy equipment.”
[source: dvice.com ]