Contact lenses coated in stem cells may restore sight to patients with corneal disease

Researchers from Australia’s University of New South Wales have used contact lenses coated in stem cells to restore sight to patients suffering from corneal disease. In the procedure, the investigators removed tissue with regenerative stem cells from patients own eyes and then multiplied them in the laboratory on the surface of a contact lens. Next, the contact lens was placed back onto the cornea for 10 days, during which the cells, which can turn into any other sort of cell, were able to recolonize and patch the damaged eye surface.