HUMANeye is the first European clinical research project coordinated by the IMO Foundation, funded by the European Innovation Council (EIC) through the European Horizon 2020 initiative "Fast Track to Innovation".
The cornea is the outermost lens of the eye, which controls light entry and is responsible for most of the eye's focusing power. Any change in the shape of the cornea has a significant impact on a person's ability to see, affecting their day-to-day life and autonomy.
Keratoconus is the most common cause of corneal deformity: this ocular alteration produces a progressive thinning of the central zone of the cornea, changing its usual spherical shape into a conical one. As a result, images are perceived distorted and vision decreases successively. This refractive error is difficult to treat with eye surgery or corneal transplantation.
The HUMANeye project aims to provide a viable treatment alternative for patients suffering from keratoconus and other corneal deformities: an implantable dome-shaped corneal net made of medical-grade nitinol that will not only correct the refractive error, but also halt the progression of the disease.
Through this project, we hope to be able to develop a universal implant that will restore the cornea to its normal shape and thus significantly improve the vision of patients suffering from keratoconus.
Dr José Luis Güell, Head of the Cornea, Cataract and Refractive Surgery Department of IMO Grupo Miranza.
The development of this project is possible thanks to the collaborative work of several European entities: the IMO Foundation, promoter and coordinator of the project; RECORNEA (Italy), an SME in the techno-health sector in charge of developing the prototype; and doctors José Luis Güell of IMO Grupo Miranza (Spain) and Pierre Fournie of the University Hospital of Toulouse (France), who will develop the clinical trials to validate its effectiveness.
Specialisation
Cornea, Cataract and Refractive Surgery
Full title
Implantable titanium net to combat pathological corneal shape deformations. Grant agreement 878719.
Start date
November 2019
Coordinator
Fundación IMO
