HUMAN CORNEA MODELING USING ARTIFICIAL COLLAGEN

At least 12 million people all over the world are blind because of the\r\ndamaged or diseased corneas. Till recently keratoplastics was the only way to help\r\nthese people. This is a surgical procedure where a damaged cornea is replaced by\r\ndonated corneal tissue. The main problem of this approach is dficiency of donor\r\ntissue. More universal method which allows obviating necessity for donors is keratoprosthesis. The main problems of existing plastic keratoprosthesis are high percent\r\nof rejection of an artfcial cornea, its keratomalacia and opacity. So with reference\r\nto an artificial cornea of an eye collagen is the most perspective material. Merits of\r\ncollagen keratoprosthesis are: almost absolute biological compatibility; reduction\r\nterms of the operations performing and postoperative rehabilitation to a minimum;\r\nreproduction biomechanical characteristics of natural cornea; wider patients base.\r\nThe main problem is that thin membranes made of collagen are optically transparent, but the single-layered samples approached on a thickness to a normal cornea,\r\npractically lose this property. This problem can be solved by modeling of a cornea\r\nas multilayered structure. Within the limits of this project problems of selection of\r\nnecessary quantity of lamellas, corners under which collagen lamellas are turned to\r\neach other and a number of other parameters. Restoration of complex refraction\r\nindex was carried out using MorphoVision software, created in laboratory Optics\r\nof nanostructures, PFUR. Obtained refractive indices were used in the designing of\r\nmultilayer model of human cornea, having sufficient transparency