LONDON (CBS Atlanta) – A British company is turning to 3D printing to help people who are missing an eye, reports CNet.com.
Fripp Design has been developing prosthetic eyes that are much cheaper than handmade ones.
Making so-called glass eyes from special glass or acrylic is time consuming and expensive.
They are usually carefully hand painted to match the other eye.
Fripp’s production methods can turn out 150 artificial eyes an hour.
They are printed in full color on a Spectrum Z-Corp 510, then encased in resin.
Each has a slightly different hue, allowing for matching with existing eyes, as well as a network of veins.
Though customizing them for each patient still takes considerable time.
But thanks to the process, the cost can be reduced from nearly $5,000 to about $160.
The prosthetic eyes could be sold commercially within a year.
The biggest benefit may be for those in developing countries, such as India.