Israeli biomed developer CorNeat Vision has jointly taken out the top spot in the start-up competition at the MIXiii-Biomed exhibition in Tel Aviv.

The company is developing an artificial cornea implant, the CorNeat KPro, which could help millions of people suffering from diseases of the cornea.

The early-stage technology is a patented synthetic cornea that uses advanced cell technology to integrate artificial optics within resident ocular tissue. It can be transplanted in a simple 30-minute surgery, according to the company. Ra’anana-based CorNeat plans to move to human implantations sometime this year, and to begin clinical trials in the US.

According to the World Health Organization, diseases of the cornea are the second leading cause of blindness worldwide behind cataracts. As many as 30 million people are affected, with around two million new cases each year.

“Unlike previous devices, which attempt to integrate optics into the native cornea, CorNeat’s implant leverages a virtual space under the conjunctiva that is rich with fibroblast cells, heals quickly and provides robust long-term integration,” said CorNeat’s CEO Almog Aley-Raz.