Artificial Eye Research Articles

The UK National Artificial Eye Questionnaire Study: predictors of artificial eye wearers' experience Part 2 - visual function and quality of life.

To report associations with visual function and quality of life (QOL) in artificial eye wearers. Multicentre, observational, cross-sectional, nationwide study, within the National Health Service England. Items were adopted from the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire, and incorporated in the National Artificial Eye Questionnaire (NAEQ). The NAEQ was completed by 951 respondents. Multiple regressions assessed associations between the QOL scores and the experiences of artificial eye wearers, their routine management, changes over time, baseline and demographic parameters. Parameters predictive of a better QOL composite score included longer artificial eye wear (β = 0.18, p < 0.001), better appearance (β = 0.17, p < 0.001), better comfort (β = 0.14, p = 0.001), tumour-related anophthalmia (β = 0.13, p = 0.003), male gender (β = 0.13, p < 0.001), shorter period of adjustment to monocular vision (β = 0.12, p < 0.001) and use of soap for cleaning (β = 0.09, p = 0.046). The composite score continued to improve beyond 10 years of prosthesis wear (≤2 years mean 72.80 ± 1.65 versus >10 years mean 79.45 ± 0.70; p = 0.001). Both better prosthesis appearance (β = 0.14, p = 0.022) and improved motility (β = 0.13, p = 0.042) predicted a better dependency score. Use of lubricating ointment predicted a worse dependency score (β = 0.23, p = 0.003). Neither the frequency of removal, nor the cleaning frequency of the artificial eye correlated with QOL scales. Multiple factors in the artificial eye experience were found to predict visual function and QOL aspects. This study underscores the need to generate a dedicated QOL questionnaire for use in anophthalmic patients.

Custom made polymeric artificial eye: Appearance and characteristics of wear and care

A prosthetic eye may enhance the appearance of individuals who have lost sight due to injury or illness. Implanting a polymeric ocular prosthesis (POP) after an eye is surgically removed following an enucleation, evisceration, or orbital exenteration is always advised. This implant supports proper eyelid functioning as well as increasing patient confidence by restoring natural appearance. From February 2013 to January 2019, an experimental study was done on five hundred cases. The included patients experienced enucleation or evisceration procedure and had ocular prosthesis fitting. Data were entered, coded, cleaned, and analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics. A total of 500 cases completed the questionnaire. Of these, 55.8% were male, and 44.2% were female, with 50.2% of the patients lost their eyes because of injuries. In terms of operation variety, evisceration was done in 61.4% of the patients, enucleation in 37.6%, and others are in only five congenital cases (1%). According to this study, 28.8% of patients suffered from deposits formed on the prosthetic eye, while the absence of deposits was 71.2%. Significant psychological, as well as social consequences can result from the disfigurement associated with eye loss. Despite using the available materials and techniques to treat such patients, one needs to be a little creative and very inventive. Ocular prostheses act as a tool for restoring patients’ self-confidence and facilitating changes in their social convenience. Precise attention is essential to preserve the prosthesis and reminiscent of tissue health.

Prescribing Trends of Medications Ophthalmological Outpatient Department in a Public Hospital in Alkharj

Aim: The present study was undertaken to describe the prescribing pattern of medications in the ophthalmology department in a public hospital in Alkharj.&#x0D; Methodology: This is a cross sectional study included collecting data from outpatient pharmacy prescriptions in a public hospital in Alkharj. All of the outpatients who received prescriptions from the ophthalmology department between the beginning of July till the end of December 2018 were included in the study.&#x0D; Results: During the study period, 324 patients received outpatient prescriptions that were written by ophthalmology department. Artificial tears eye drops were the most commonly prescribed drug (29.32%) followed by olopatadine (12.96%), fusidic acid (11.42%) and fluorometholone (10.19%). Most of the prescribers who wrote the prescriptions were residents (98.15%). Eye drop was the most commonly prescribed dosage form (73.77%) followed by ointment (18.21%).&#x0D; Conclusion: The present study showed that the most commonly prescribed drugs in outpatient ophthalmology department were artificial tears, olopatadine, fusidic acid and fluorometholone. It is also important to increase the awareness of healthcare providers and patients about the appropriate use of these drugs.

Digital photographic technique for the production of an artificial eye

The use of hand painting an iris button using oil paint remains the conventional method of artificial eye manufacturing. The authors found that replacing this technique with a digital photograph taken of a patient’s unaffected eye offers several advantages over the conventional method but the process from capture to print must be standardised and colour accurate. The authors of this paper suggest a tried and tested formulated photographic process of capture and printing prior to polymerisation. It discusses issues that can arise and how these can be overcome in order to achieve a high-quality print that can be used to produce a ‘life like’ ocular prosthesis.

Optical design and fabrication of a smartphone fundus camera.

Fundus examination plays an important part in a medical setting. The fundus camera is one of the detection instruments used in obtaining fundus images, which can reflect information about disease and other conditions. However, traditional fundus cameras have many disadvantages in regard to data sharing, image recognition, and processing, as well as doctor-patient communication. In recent years, mobile medical systems have gradually become more prevalent in medical and health system environments. In this paper, we propose a design method for a smartphone fundus camera consisting of an illumination system and an imaging system. The end of the system can be combined with a smartphone to take the fundus images directly. We manufactured a prototype, designed an artificial eye model, and carried out a series of experiments. The results show that we can get fundus images clearly, and the imaging system will be able to correct refractive errors ranging from -8D∼+8D. The spatial resolution of the system is up to 15 µm. This is a portable device with an overall size of 160mm×160mm×80mm and a weight of 540 g. It has the advantages of lower price, simple operation, high resolution, and compact size, making it suitable as a portable ocular monitoring device.

Evaluation of the potential eye hazard at visible wavelengths of the supercontinuum generated by an ultrafast NIR laser in water.

Lasers with ultrashort pulse durations have become ubiquitous in various applications, including ocular surgery. Therefore, we need to consider the role of nonlinear optical effects, such as supercontinuum generation during propagation within the ocular media, when evaluating their potential hazard. We used a NIR femtosecond laser to generate a supercontinuum within an artificial eye. We recorded the visible spectra of the supercontinuum generated and calculated the energy contained within the visible band. Our results indicate that for wavelengths between 1350 nm and 1450 nm the energy contained within the visible band of the generated white light supercontinuum may surpass current safety exposure limits, and pose a risk of injury to the retina.

Filmic encounters: Multispecies care and sacrifice on island Timor

AbstractThis is a story about the ‘arts of noticing’ more‐than‐human noticing. In it I reflect on the ways in which my own practice of ethnographic filmmaking is itself an agent of multisensory participation. As artifice and artificial eye, there is something both liberating and sensuous about filmmaking practice. It heightens the performativity of participants and their embodied rituals and allows me to enter intimate spaces I would otherwise not encounter. In these encounters a deep multispecies noticing takes place, although in the first instance this is usually only by the camera. The intimacy enabled in these artificial but sensorial encounters can be both revealing and confronting, especially in cases of animal sacrifice. Re‐encountering footage filmed across years of research‐led endeavour, in this paper I explore the power of film to convey these multisensory and multispecies stories, as well as to evoke understanding and engage the multisensory memory of the filmmaker.

Expression of Concern: Custom-made artificial eyes using 3D printing for dogs: A preliminary study.

Expression of Concern: Custom-made artificial eyes using 3D printing for dogs: A preliminary study.

The UK National Artificial Eye Questionnaire Study: comparisons between cosmetic shell and artificial eye users. Part 2: maintenance, management and quality of life

AimsTo compare the unique experiences related to artificial eye (AE) versus cosmetic shell (CS) wear.MethodsIn this observational, cross-sectional study, the National Artificial Eye Questionnaire was employed nationwide within the National...

A Dynamic Costal Cartilage Platform Promotes Ocular Prosthetic Excursion: Preliminary Report.

Background:The quality of life of the face involves mainly its configuration, and it plays an important functional role in communication skills. Thus, having artificial eyes is extremely essential in maintaining the quality of life of patients who have lost their eyeballs. We will present the details of the technique, including tips and innovations for eye socket reconstruction using spherical costal cartilage implant, which leads to dynamic and aesthetic results.Methods:There were 19 cases of eye socket reconstruction using costal cartilages from 2008 to 2020. The patient age range was 18–77 years old. There were 10 cases of anophthalmia and 9 cases of ocular phthisis. In our operative method, we created the costal cartilage implant by harvesting the sixth costal cartilage of the affected side. If extraocular muscle remained, we sutured each muscle to the cartilage.Results:Our method made application of thin artificial eyes possible in all cases. Regarding postoperative complications, there were 1 case of postoperative infection and 1 case of vascular failure of temporoparietal fascial flap. Seventeen cases were wet socket, and 2 cases were dry socket. We had attained movement of the artificial eye in 15 cases.Conclusions:Eye socket reconstruction is considered one of the most challenging operations, and various postoperative complications appear in the long term. Costal cartilages are considered as the most suitable materials to create the base of artificial eyes.

A rapid precision fabrication method for artificial compound eyes

A bionic artificial compound eye manufactured on a concave mold with precision engraving method for imaging, which allows for the rapid fabrication of large-scale compound eyes at a low cost. Thousands of concave structures are accurately machined and positioned omnidirectionally in concentric rings with a minimum diameter of 100 μm on a hemisphere. The PDMS ommatidia can be obtained once replicated, which can greatly improve preparation efficiency, and the peel-off process can also be optimized by alcohol ultrasonic without edge damage. The optical performance and field of view of the artificial compound eye are also investigated, and the experimental results are around 120°. Furthermore, the combination of the prepared compound eye and the commercial CMOS camera successfully captures images of different shapes.

Transmittance measurement of the in vivo human eye with a double-pass system

Purpose: To develop a methodology based on a double-pass system to obtain information about the transmittance of ocular media. Methods: The procedure consists of recording double-pass images at different powers of a laser diode of 780 nm and determining the scattering in an area between 25–35 arcmin of each image. The scattering showed linear behavior in respect to the irradiance of the laser, and the slope of the linear fit was proportional to the transmittance squared of the media evaluated. An artificial eye with different filters was tested first. Then, fifteen subjects with clear ocular media were divided into two groups: ten subjects classified by the iris color were recruited for the measurements of an ocular transmittance index and the estimation of the transmittance (group A), and another five subjects were selected for measurements with neutral filters (group B). Results: The measurements performed in group A presented a mean transmittance of 42.95%. No differences in the transmittance were found between subjects with different iris color (p = 0.154). Measurements in group B showed a good correlation (r = 0.959, p &lt; 0.001) between the expected and the measured value for the transmittance. Conclusion: We proposed and evaluated a method to determine the transmittance of the eye in vivo using the double-pass system.

Scene Semantic Recognition Based on Modified Fuzzy C-Mean and Maximum Entropy Using Object-to-Object Relations

With advances in machine vision systems (e.g., artificial eye, unmanned aerial vehicles, surveillance monitoring) scene semantic recognition (SSR) technology has attracted much attention due to its related applications such as autonomous driving, tourist navigation, intelligent traffic and remote aerial sensing. Although tremendous progress has been made in visual interpretation, several challenges remain (i.e., dynamic backgrounds, occlusion, lack of labeled data, changes in illumination, direction, and size). Therefore, we have proposed a novel SSR framework that intelligently segments the locations of objects, generates a novel Bag of Features, and recognizes scenes via Maximum Entropy. First, denoising and smoothing are applied on scene data. Second, modified Fuzzy C-Means integrates with super-pixels and Random Forest for the segmentation of objects. Third, these segmented objects are used to extract a novel Bag of Features that concatenate different blobs, multiple orientations, Fourier transform and geometrical points over the objects. An Artificial Neural Network recognizes the multiple objects using the different patterns of objects. Finally, labels are estimated via Maximum Entropy model. During experimental evaluation, our proposed system illustrated a remarkable mean accuracy rate of 90.07% over the MSRC dataset and 89.26% over the Caltech 101 for object recognition, and 93.53% over the Pascal-VOC12 dataset for scene recognition, respectively. The proposed system should be applicable to various emerging technologies, such as augmented reality, to represent the real-world environment for military training and engineering design, as well as for entertainment, artificial eyes for visually impaired people and traffic monitoring to avoid congestion or road accidents.

Transparent photovoltaic memory for neuromorphic device.

Bio-inspired electronic devices have significant potential for use in memory devices of the future, including in the context of neuromorphic computing and architecture. This study proposes a transparent heterojunction device for the artificial human visual cortex. Owing to their high transparency, such devices directly react to incoming light to mimic neurological and biological processes in the nervous system. Metal-oxide materials are applied to form a transparent heterojunction (n-type ZnO/p-type NiO) in the proposed device that also provides the photovoltaic function to realize the optic nerve system. The device also exhibits nociceptive features. Its transparent photovoltaic feature endows it with self-powered operation that ensures long-term reliability without needing to replace the power system. This self-powered and highly transparent visual electronic device can provide a route for sustainable applications of neuromorphic computing, including artificial eyes.

Outcomes of secondary autologus dermo-fat orbital implants in anophthalmic sockets.

Objectives:To evaluate the outcomes of secondary autologous dermis-fat graft as an orbital implant in anophthalmic sockets.Methods:In this prospective study, which was conducted at Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre, Karachi, between January 2015 and January 2020, we evaluated 12 patients between the ages of four and 60 years. Most of the adults were victims of trauma, whereas children were known cases of retinoblastoma or trauma and all underwent enucleation. All of them were primarily treated elsewhere and not offered primary orbital implants. We performed autologous dermis-fat graft as an orbital implant in these patients harvesting graft from gluteal region and followed them up to look for complications.Results:Out of 12 patients two went into failure, while rest of the patients showed successful outcome. All patients underwent successful surgery. Initially, a silicon conformer was placed, which was later on replaced with artificial prosthetic eye.Conclusion:Regardless of the small sample size, this procedure proved to be a safe and effective method for augmenting orbital volume in anophthalmic sockets in children and adults.

Autologous serum eye drops versus lacrimal gland injection of platelet-rich plasma for severe dry eye

Aim The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of autologous serum (AS) eye drops versus lacrimal gland injection of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in the treatment of severe dry-eye disease (DED).Setting and design This is a prospective comparative interventional study that was carried out at Eye Tech Centre, Alexandria, Egypt.Patients and methods The study included 40 eyes of 20 patients with severe DED. They were randomized into two groups: group A received lacrimal gland injection of PRP transcutaneously into the external one-third of the orbital rim at a depth of 4 mm to the superior area on days 0, 30, 60, and 90, while group B received AS eye drops five times daily for the duration of the study. Both groups received preservative-free artificial tears eye drops (hyaluronic acid) —three to five times daily for the study duration. The patients were followed up for 12 weeks after the first injection or the initiation of AS eye drops for the subjective changes in symptoms and in ocular surface parameters.Results The patients’ age ranged from 46 to 71 years (mean=56.0±8.2 years). Both groups showed a significant improvement of dry-eye symptoms (P<0.05) using the Ocular Surface Disease Index scoring with group B having more significant improvement of symptoms compared with group A patients after 3 months of follow-up (P<0.05). Schirmer’s test I showed a statistically significant improvement in both groups over the follow-up period (P<0.05), with no statistically significant difference between the two groups after 3 months (P>0.05). The other ocular surface parameters, using the ocular surface analyzer, including the noninvasive tear breakup time, tear-meniscus height, and lipid-layer thickness, showed significant improvement in both groups (P<0.001), while the meibomian gland loss area showed no statistically significant change throughout the follow-up period, with no statistically significant difference between the two groups after 3 months (P>0.05).Conclusions Both AS and lacrimal gland injection of PRP proved the safety and efficacy in the treatment of severe DED and were comparable. More studies are needed to confirm these results.

Simple and High-Efficiency Preparation Method of Biometric 3D Artificial Compound Eyes for Wide-Field Imaging

Simple and High-Efficiency Preparation Method of Biometric 3D Artificial Compound Eyes for Wide-Field Imaging

Author Correction: Miniaturising artificial compound eyes based on advanced micronanofabrication techniques

Author Correction: Miniaturising artificial compound eyes based on advanced micronanofabrication techniques

Corneal topography and wavefront data changes in dry eye

Background Dry eye is a very common eye presentation nowadays due to extensive use of digital devices, so that it was important for us to see the impact of dry eye on corneal topography and wavefront data because it has a strong relation with refractive surgeries. In the past, it was hard to know the effect of dry eye on corneal parameters, but after the new medical technology, it is possible to do that. Aim The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of dry eye on corneal topography and wavefront data. Patients and methods In total, 40 patients were included in this study with mild and moderate dry eye. Corneal topography and wavefront data were collected before and after treatment with artificial eye drops for 4 weeks. Results Eleven eyes show an increase in peak central corneal thickness after treatment from 1 up to 5 μm. Five eyes show changes in corneal volume after treatment. Eight eyes show a decrease in k1 after treatment. In total, 13 eyes show a decrease in k2 after treatment. Seven eyes show a decrease in root mean square values. Conclusion Dry eye can affect corneal topography increasing the higher order aberrations, so that screening for dry eye is important in the preoperative evaluation of refractive surgery candidates.

Face and Content Validity of an Artificial Eye Model for Secondary IOL Fixation

Face and Content Validity of an Artificial Eye Model for Secondary IOL Fixation