Abstract:
A collagen-hydrogel material, artificial lens (60) or contact lens (60) for the eye (40) fabricated from the collagen-hydrogel, which, when affixed to Bowman's membrane (48), promotes and supports epithelial cell growth (52) enabling corneal epithelium, during the healing process, to attach to and cover the lens (60) and to regenerate the stroma (50) which grows over the edge of and attaches to the optical lens (60). The collagen-hydrogel is a hydrogel polymer formed by the free radical polymerization of a hydrophilic monomer solution gelled and crosslinked in the presence of an aqueous stock solution of collagen to form a three dimensional polymeric meshwork for anchoring collagen. The collagen-hydrogel material has a ratio by weight of collagen-to-hydrogel in the range of about .6-to-1000 and less than .6-to-1000 but at a level wherein sufficient collagen is present by weight to at least one of promote epithelial cell growth (52) and regeneration of the stroma (50).
Abstract:
A method for locating on the cornea an optical lens having a preselected geometric shape and power. The optical lens (60) is formed of a collagen-hydrogel for promoting epithelial cell growth. The optical lens (60) when affixed to Bowman's membrane (40), promotes and supports epithelial cell (52) growth and enables corneal epithelium (42) of the cornea of an eye, during the healing process, to attach to and cover the anterior surface (70) of the lens (60) implanting the same. The collagen-hydrogel is a hydrogel polymer formed by the free radical polymerization of a hydrophilic monomer solution gelled and crosslinked in the presence of an aqueous solution of macromolecules to form a three dimensional polymeric meshwork for anchoring macromolecules. Macromolecules comprising a constituent of a ground substance of tissue, which in the preferred embodiment is a native collagen, are interspersed within the polymeric network forming the hydrogel resulting in a collagen-hydrogel for promoting epithelial cell growth.