Seeing is believing
The cornea is one of the most important parts of our body because it enables our power of sight. It is also one of the most common parts of our body to break down over the years.
“The cornea is the most commonly transplanted tissue in the country, far more commonly than kidneys, or hearts, or lungs, or anything else that is transplantable,” said University of Minnesota mechanical engineering professor Allison Hubel. “About 44,000 individuals a year get corneal transplants and with the population aging that need will only continue to grow.”
Professor Hubel’s nanotechnology-enabled research to develop an artificial substitute for the cornea becomes more important every day.