Alternative ultraviolet A lamp for corneal collagen crosslinking

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Collagen crosslinking is a crucial procedure in ophthalmology.
• Existing methods can be expensive and inaccessible.
• There is a need for cost-effective and reproducible crosslinking techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe an original, affordable device for collagen crosslinking.
• To demonstrate a safe and reproducible method for this procedure.
• To enable in-house preparation of essential reagents.

Main Methods:

• Modification of an affordable ultraviolet A lamp.
• In-house preparation of 0.1% riboflavin solution.
• Performing collagen crosslinking using the modified device and in-house solution.

Main Results:

• The developed device allows for safe and reproducible collagen crosslinking.
• The in-house riboflavin preparation is effective.
• The overall procedure is cost-effective and accessible.

Conclusions:

• An original, affordable, and available device for collagen crosslinking has been developed.
• The described method ensures safety and reproducibility.
• This innovation can increase accessibility to collagen crosslinking procedures.