During a corneal graft surgery suturing remains one of the most critical, difficult and time-consuming skills. Under the Medtech Accelerator award a Corneal Graft Suturing Ring (CGSR) will be designed to facilitate suturing resulting in a stable good apposition of the graft and host tissues. The new technology will help to ensure suturing with consistent length, depth, orientation and spacing, whilst also minimises damage created from repetitive holding of the sensitive and vital donner tissue.
The project award will support design and development of the CGSR, including Rapid Prototype Manufacturing. In addition to the design and development work, other work packages include IP protection, health economic assessment and human factors studies. The hope for the award is that CGSR can be used in future surgeries to reduce the number of corneal transplant complications, including suture related problems and the need for reoperation.
Inventors
Mr Anas Injarie
NHS Organisation
Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Award Amount
£90,872