The new AlphaSphere Orbital Implant ophthalmic device has been awarded the 2010 Alpha Award for Innovation In Engineering & Technology presented by the Engineering Society of Detroit.

Art Brodie, Executive Vice President, Business Development at Addition Technology, the maker of the product said: “We view the engineering, materials and design of the AlphaSphere device to be a quantum leap forward in orbital implant technology.  Although AlphaSphere was only launched in the second half of 2009, we have already seen surgeons at Bascom Palmer, Yale and Mass. Eye & Ear to name a few begin to use the device, and though the results are short-term, the light-weight, smooth and bio-integratable characteristics have generated very favourable feedback.”

The implant is a new entry into an historical market that dates back to 1884. It is the first orbital implant device made from a novel poly-HEMA bio-material (PHEMA) that biointegrates into the eye socket capsule yet resists bio-integration in its posterior hemisphere to provide S motility to a prosthetic eye. Since the majority of its composition is water, AlphaSphere’s ability to provide compliance in matching natural organ tissue is claimed by its makers to be unique in comparison to other orbital implant products due to its soft, smooth and pliable exterior. A major feature is the ability to directly suture into the endo-skeletal, anterior surface.