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19 Oct 2023

Medical & healthcare

Eye implant could enable cell-based treatment of diabetes

Researchers have developed a microscale device for implantation in the eye, an advance that could lead to cell-based treatment of diabetes and other diseases.

The research demonstrates the first mechanical fixation of a device in the anterior chamber of the eye - Photo: David Callahan

Developed by a team from KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Karolinska Institutet, it is envisioned that the 3D-printed device will eventually encapsulate insulin-producing pancreatic cells and electronic sensors. The team’s findings have been published in Advanced Materials.

The collaboration enables micro-organs - pancreatic islets or islets of Langerhans - to be positioned precisely in the eye without the need for sutures. It offers the possibility of cell-based therapy for conditions such as Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes using the eye as a base.

Anna Herland, senior lecturer in the Division of Bionanotechnology at SciLifeLab at KTH and the AIMES research centre at KTH and Karolinska Institutet, said the eye has no immune cells that react unfavourably in the first stage of implantation. Furthermore, its transparency allows visual and microscopic study of what happens to the implant over time.

“The eye is our only window into the body, and it’s immune-privileged,” Herland said in a statement.

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