Face Off

Whether it's through accident or disease, losing an eye is a distressing experience. But thanks to artfully made prosthetics like this replacement eye and face-plate, plus a surgeon's skill, at least some of the damage can be repaired and a face restored. This is a mid-face plate, used for people that have lost their eye and other parts of their eye socket. The plate itself is titanium – a light but incredibly strong metal – shaped by hand based on the individual patient's features. Although artificial eyeballs were originally made from glass, this one is acrylic, oil-painted by hand to match the other eye perfectly. Making these replacements is no easy task, needing high levels of artistry and craftsmanship to make a lifelike copy. But this is changing, as ocularists [the people who make artificial eyes] are turning to digital printing and even 3D printing to create more realistic replicas.

Written by Kat Arney

Kat Arney

Writer

Dr Kat Arney is an award-winning science writer, broadcaster and public speaker, and is the founder and Creative Director of First Create The Media.

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• Image by William Riddle
• This image is included in the International Images for Science 2015 exhibition, organised by the Royal Photographic Society and supported by Siemens as part of the Curiosity Project
• Copyright held by the photographer