text: The eye is one of the most complex yet delicate part of the human body. Now engineers claim to have designed a range of synthetic eyes that may one day let us replace and even enhance our own sense of vision. Italian bio-designers MHOX has unveiled project is has been working on to 3D print organic tissues to produce working body parts that can replace the eyes of people suffering from disease. It could mean rather than getting glasses to correct their vision, people would be able to replace their entire eye. The MHOX Eye concept (above) is designed to replace and even enhance the vision compared to a normal eye . The group plan to combine the biological tissue with microscopic wireless technology to provide additional functions and give super human eyesight. While currently still just a concept, the project raises the prospect of what bio-engineering may make possible in years to come. The team behind MHOX say their synthetic eyes, which include lenses that improves the image sharpness and can put filters over the vision, could be available by 2027. Scientists claim to have made a 'giant leap' towards creating 3D organs that could be simply printed out in hospitals when needed for a transplant. An international team have created the first organs that include a full vascular network for transporting blood through organs. They say it could even allows organs damaged by cancer to simply replaced. Scientists from the Universities of Sydney, Harvard, Stanford and MIT have now bio-printed artificial vascular networks mimicking the body's circulatory system that are necessary for growing large complex tissues. Using a high-tech 'bio-printer', the researchers fabricated a multitude of interconnected tiny fibres to serve as the mold for the artificial blood vessels. They then covered the 3D printed structure with a cell-rich protein-based material, which was solidified by applying light to it. Lastly they removed the bio-printed fibres to leave behind a network of tiny channels coated with human endothelial cells, which self organised to form stable blood capillaries in less than a week. Filippo Nassetti and Alessandro Zomparelli, the two Italian designers leading the project, said: 'Latest developments in bioprinting and biohacking let us imagine that in the near future it would be possible to easily print organic, functional body parts, allowing the human to replace defected districts or enhance standard performance. 'This project is based on the idea of augmenting the sight sense, increasing the functionalities of the eye with ones currently handled by other body segments or external devices.' Under MHOX designs, patients with eye disease will inthe future be able to replace their eye with a synthetic one printed in a laboratory. For those looking to improve their vision, they could buy the 'Enhance' model that features a 'hyper retina' to give 15/10 vision - significantly better than normal 20/20 vision. They say it could also include a gland that can filter the visual signal to the brain by producing vintage or black and white effects much like a modern camera. They say these could be turned on or off by swallowing a pill that alters the state of this gland. The Eye Advance model adds a wifi connection that allows what the eye is seeing to be recorded and shared with others. It could also connect to external devices to act like a camera. They say a socket that connects the eye to the brain - which would require a surgical operation - would allow eyes to be interchangable. The synthetic eyes would come in three different models (above) according to the designs outlined by MHOX . MHOX propose combining new technology like Wifi with bioprinting to produce an enhanced bionic eye . The concept sounds a little like something out of the science fiction hit Blade Runner where bioengineers built new eyes for robotic replicants. Writing on their website, Mr Nassetti and Mr Zomparelli said: 'The installation of the EYE augmentations needs a first surgical operation aimed at installing the Deck, the technology that actually connects the eye to the brain. 'After that, augmented eyes can be easily interchanged by their own users without the need of additional surgery. 'Besides allowing to use different augmentations in different contexts, this system is suitable for easy hardware upgrade.' The designers say 3D bioprinters could be used to create the tissues to create the complex eye stucture .
target: Italian designers have unveiled a concept for a bio-printed synthetic eye .
  They say enhanced retina could increase vision to make images sharper .
  Filtering signals to the brain to produce vintage or black and white effects .
  Currently just a concept, the designers say it could be available by 2027 .