28 May '15

Flemish universities to create cornea with 3D printer

Summary

KU Leuven and UA are working together to create a cornea – the transparent covering of the eye – with a 3D printer using living cells

 

Pioneers in field

The ophthalmology department of Antwerp University (UA) is co-operating with the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) to create a cornea with living cells using 3D printer technology. The prototypes will be tested in the laboratory next month. UA is designing the cornea – the transparent covering at the front of the eye – while KU Leuven is providing the printing technology.

For the research, which should be finished by 2018, the universities received €600,000 in subsidies from the Flemish Fund for Scientific Research. “That budget includes the first tests on animals but not the clinical research or tests on humans,” Jennifer Patterson, researcher in materials engineering at KU Leuven, told De Tijd.

According to experts, Belgium plays a pioneering role in the new field of printing with living cells. The reason is the strong presence of both the biotechnology sector and successful 3D printing companies.

Photo by Kyle May

Now read this

Biotechnology

Biotechnology refers to the use of existing living systems or organisms to develop useful products – for instance, through genetic engineering or DNA manipulation. Flanders is a powerhouse for biotechnology, which accounts for one of the region’s fastest-growing economic sectors.
Plant biotechnology - Flanders was the birthplace for present-day plant biotechnology. This technology to genetically modify plants is now being used around the world.
Two waves - The Flemish biotech industry developed in two waves – one in the 1980s with companies like Plant Genetic Systems and Innogenetics, and a second one in the 1990s, with companies like Ablynx, Devgen and Tigenix.
Successes - Recent biotech successes in Flanders have opened new opportunities in everything from biofuel and stem cell production to cancer treatment.
50

More than half of all biotechnology shares traded on the Euronext biotech index belong to Flemish companies

13 000

people are employed in the life science industry in Flanders and Brussels

3

billion euros in total annual turnover of the Flemish biotech industry

  • FlandersBio
  • Flemish Agency for Innovation by Science and Technology
  • Flemish Institute for Biotechnology

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