Manipal 20^th May 2022: Researchers from Manipal Academy of Higher Education have recently published a paper reporting the development of self-moisturizing contact lens using 3D printing technology. The study has implications for the development of the next generation of contact lens-based medical devices.

Contact lenses offer great promise in the areas of vision correction and wearable sending technologies. However, wearing a contact lens can result in dry eye problems and associated inflammation or corneal wound. To mitigate these concerns the researchers developed strategies to keep the lens moisturized.

The team of researchers consisting of Dr. Sajan George, Dr S Chidangil, and Dr M Aravind, are using a novel approach to 3D printing by developing the self-moisturizing contact lenses using AutoCAD and stereolithography, which is a common 3D-printing technology. The research has two major accomplishments i.e, improving the self-moisturizing capabilities of printed contact lenses and providing a platform for future development of contact lenses with lab-on-a-chip capabilities—paving the way for the lenses to work as functional real-time biomarker-probing applications.

Speaking about this accomplishment of MAHE researchers, Lt Gen (Dr) MD Venkatesh, Vice Chancellor, MAHE said “The findings of this research can have implications on the future manufacturing of contact lenses around the world. We admire the dedication of the team of researchers in this study and congratulate them on their success”