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Bioengineering
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Bioengineering and the Eye—3rd Edition
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Bioengineering and the Eye—3rd Edition

A special issue of Bioengineering (ISSN 2306-5354). This special issue belongs to the section "Regenerative Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 2400

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Dimitrios Karamichos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
North Texas Eye Research Institute (NTERI), University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA
Interests: corneal wound healing; cornea trauma; keratoconus; bioengineering; bioprinting; diabetic keratopathy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is the third edition of the previous release of “Bioengineering and the Eye” and “Bioengineering and the Eye—2nd Edition”.

The field of eye regeneration is experiencing a surge of innovation, with tissue engineering and bioengineering offering promising solutions for debilitating conditions like corneal damage and retinal degeneration. Recent breakthroughs encompass stem cell therapies, the development of functional ocular tissue equivalents, and the application of advanced biomaterials as well as 3D bioprinting. Despite this progress, significant hurdles persist. Achieving the long-term, functional integration of engineered tissues with existing ocular structures and mitigating immune rejection remain key challenges that researchers are actively addressing.

A large host of concepts and technologies remain unexplored. The third edition of this Special Issue calls for original research articles, as well as reviews, that tackle ocular problems using bioengineering/biomedical/tissue engineering approaches.

Prof. Dr. Dimitrios Karamichos
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Bioengineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • stem cell therapies
  • functional ocular tissue equivalents
  • biomaterials
  • 3D bioprinting
  • tissue engineering

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Related Special Issues

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 2761 KB  
Article
An Explainable AI Framework for Corneal Imaging Interpretation and Refractive Surgery Decision Support
by Mini Han Wang
Bioengineering 2025, 12(11), 1174; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering12111174 - 28 Oct 2025
Viewed by 510
Abstract
This study introduces an explainable neuro-symbolic and large language model (LLM)-driven framework for intelligent interpretation of corneal topography and precision surgical decision support. In a prospective cohort of 20 eyes, comprehensive IOLMaster 700 reports were analyzed through a four-stage pipeline: (1) automated extraction [...] Read more.
This study introduces an explainable neuro-symbolic and large language model (LLM)-driven framework for intelligent interpretation of corneal topography and precision surgical decision support. In a prospective cohort of 20 eyes, comprehensive IOLMaster 700 reports were analyzed through a four-stage pipeline: (1) automated extraction of key parameters—including corneal curvature, pachymetry, and axial biometry; (2) mapping of these quantitative features onto a curated corneal disease and refractive-surgery knowledge graph; (3) Bayesian probabilistic inference to evaluate early keratoconus and surgical eligibility; and (4) explainable multi-model LLM reporting, employing DeepSeek and GPT-4.0, to generate bilingual physician- and patient-facing narratives. By transforming complex imaging data into transparent reasoning chains, the pipeline delivered case-level outputs within ~95 ± 12 s. When benchmarked against independent evaluations by two senior corneal specialists, the framework achieved 92 ± 4% sensitivity, 94 ± 5% specificity, 93 ± 4% accuracy, and an AUC of 0.95 ± 0.03 for early keratoconus detection, alongside an F1 score of 0.90 ± 0.04 for refractive surgery eligibility. The generated bilingual reports were rated ≥4.8/5 for logical clarity, clinical usefulness, and comprehensibility, with representative cases fully concordant with expert judgment. Comparative benchmarking against baseline CNN and ViT models demonstrated superior diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.95 ± 0.03 vs. 0.88 and 0.90, p < 0.05), confirming the added value of the neuro-symbolic reasoning layer. All analyses were executed on a workstation equipped with an NVIDIA RTX 4090 GPU and implemented in Python 3.10/PyTorch 2.2.1 for full reproducibility. By explicitly coupling symbolic medical knowledge with advanced language models and embedding explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) principles throughout data processing, reasoning, and reporting, this framework provides a transparent, rapid, and clinically actionable AI solution. The approach holds significant promise for improving early ectatic disease detection and supporting individualized refractive surgery planning in routine ophthalmic practice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioengineering and the Eye—3rd Edition)
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14 pages, 2173 KB  
Article
Different Expression of Vascularization and Inflammatory Regulators in Cells Derived from Oral Mucosa and Limbus
by Eleni Voukali, Joao Victor Cabral, Natalia Smorodinova, Vojtech Kolin, Magdalena Netukova, Tomáš Vacík and Katerina Jirsova
Bioengineering 2025, 12(7), 688; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering12070688 - 24 Jun 2025
Viewed by 719
Abstract
Bilateral limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) can be effectively treated with cultivated oral mucosa epithelial cell transplantation (COMET). However, COMET is associated with greater superficial neovascularization than limbal stem cell (LESC) transplantation, the gold standard for unilateral LSCD. To investigate the intrinsic molecular [...] Read more.
Bilateral limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) can be effectively treated with cultivated oral mucosa epithelial cell transplantation (COMET). However, COMET is associated with greater superficial neovascularization than limbal stem cell (LESC) transplantation, the gold standard for unilateral LSCD. To investigate the intrinsic molecular features of cells intended for grafting, we assessed the in vitro expression of genes involved in vascularization and inflammation using real-time quantitative PCR and multifactorial linear models. Oral mucosal epithelial cells (OMECs) and limbal epithelial cells (LECs) were cultured in either conventional (COM) or xenobiotic-free (XF) media on fibrin substrates. Gene expression profiling revealed distinct transcriptional signatures. The pro-angiogenic genes AGR2, ANGPTL2, CRYAB, EREG, JAM3, and S100A4 were significantly higher in LECs (adjusted p < 0.01), whereas FGF2 was higher in OMECs (adjusted p < 0.001). The anti-angiogenic genes TIMP3 and SERPINF1 were higher in LECs (adjusted p < 0.01), while COL18A1 was higher in OMECs (adjusted p < 0.01). OMECs also showed significantly greater expression of the immunoregulatory genes IL1B, IL6, TNF, CXCL10, and IL1RN (adjusted p < 0.01). Cultivation induced phenotypic changes in OMECs, with COM and XF media exerting comparable effects. These results highlight the contribution of inflammatory mediators to neovascularization following COMET. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioengineering and the Eye—3rd Edition)
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Review

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29 pages, 2092 KB  
Review
Bioengineering Strategies for Corneal Endothelial Cell Injection Therapy: Advances, Challenges, and Clinical Translation
by Yura Choi, Mi-Young Jung, Eunsun Han and Choul Yong Park
Bioengineering 2025, 12(11), 1162; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering12111162 - 26 Oct 2025
Viewed by 633
Abstract
Corneal endothelial dysfunction is a leading cause of vision impairment globally, traditionally managed through donor-dependent keratoplasty procedures. However, limitations in donor tissue availability, surgical complexity, and long-term graft survival have prompted the development of cell-based regenerative therapies. Among these, corneal endothelial cells (CECs) [...] Read more.
Corneal endothelial dysfunction is a leading cause of vision impairment globally, traditionally managed through donor-dependent keratoplasty procedures. However, limitations in donor tissue availability, surgical complexity, and long-term graft survival have prompted the development of cell-based regenerative therapies. Among these, corneal endothelial cells (CECs) injection therapy has emerged as a minimally invasive alternative, offering the potential to restore endothelial function. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of recent advances in bioengineering strategies for CECs therapy, including cell sourcing from donor tissue, pluripotent stem cells, and transdifferentiated somatic cells; optimization of culture conditions and substrates; and delivery protocols that enhance cell adhesion and survival. We further examine clinical trial outcomes and propose future directions for clinical translation. The convergence of cell biology, biomaterials engineering, and translational medicine positions CECs injection therapy as a transformative solution to corneal blindness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioengineering and the Eye—3rd Edition)
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