Our Mission

Everyone deserves access to healthcare, no one should have their lifestyle limited simply because they cannot afford it. The Visionaries were established with the focus of restoring not only bodily functions but lifestyles of patients in underserved communities. Our primary focus is to restore vision to those suffering from corneal blindness so that patients may be able to enjoy the beautiful sights of the world.

Our Vision

Our vision is to create a device that meets all the criteria of patient satisfaction. This includes but is not limited to: comfort, longevity, antibacterial, biocompatible, biointegratable, controlling cell growth, tansparent, aesthetically pleasing, and provide clear vision comparable to that of a natural cornea.

View the Vision

Dive into how we are reimagining the artificial cornea market and why we may provide the foundation for the best option in the field.

Meet the Team

The Visionaries formed within the University of California, Irvine (UCI) with hopes of improving patient lives. With the help of their mentor, they have learned about the keratoprosthesis manufacturing and testing process to develop one that can successfully meet all of the needs of said device. They are composed of six fourth year biomedical engineers eager to create a lasting impact in the medical device world by putting patients first.

David Parra - Team Lead

As a young engineer, David seeks to apply his engineering skills and knowledge to allow patients to live out their best possible lives, no matter their income level. As the team lead, he has overseen the project and established ideas and processes for the team to test and follow. He has contributed to the manufacturing of materials along with the assembly process, refining it to allow for future mass production of the device. David has ensured that the quality standard of the device will be upheld by maintaing the importance of putting the patient first, not only caring for their physical needs but their emotional and personal needs as well.

Christian Carrasco - Prototyping and Testing

Christian is in his final quarter as a graduating biomedical engineering major at UC Irvine. His motivation to fulfill unmet clinical needs has motivated him early on in his career. Additionally, his interests in prototyping, fabrication, and mechanical testing have led him to take a role in the prototype and testing division of The Visionaries. Christian has worked to verify the mechanical integrity of the composite materials of Visionary KPro in addition to validating the quality of the device's patterned surface.

Nicholas Fuerst - Prototyping Lead

Nick's main motivation for taking on this project was to help create a more accessible treatment for the millions of people suffering from corneal blindness, while simultaneously improving and developing his design and engineering skills. For the duration of this project, he chose to take on the role of fabrication lead for our artificial cornea keratoprosthesis. His primary objective has been to design and adhere the various film layers that compose the device and implement nanopillars and microgrooves into the final product.

Immanuel Kim - Manufacturing Lead

Immanuel is a graduating senior at UC Irvine for biomedical engineering. Ever since he was a kid, he has loved the ability to take an idea and create a tangible item using his own two hands. Creating an artificial cornea has proven its many challenges this past year, but it thrills him to work on a device that has such a direct impact on patients and their quality of life. This has led him to become a prominent team member as the manufacturing lead.

Rebecca Mendoza - Testing Lead

Rebecca is a graduating biomedical engineering major with a minor in materials science and engineering and specializing in micro/nanotechnology. Her motivation to provide affordable healthcare to underprivileged communities led her to join this project. She has primarily worked on fabricating and testing the device for quality assurance.

Joshua Ubaldo - Market Strategy and Nanopattern Lead

Joshua helps lead our nanopattern design and literature research. His fascination with how biological processes interact with micro and nanostructures steered him towards taking on this role. He also aids with the manufacturing processes and testing of them as well. He has also taken the lead on developing our market strategy to effectively introduce our product on the market.

Dr. Albert Yee - Mentor

Dr. Yee is a research scientist at UCI who focuses on the materials science aspects of polymers and soft materials, particularly on how they are used to impact nanotechnology. His recent projects include nanoimprinting and nanopatterning using polymers; biomedical, micro- and nano-devices fabricated from polymers; and fracture, failure and toughening of polymers, composites, and nanocomposites. Dr. Yee has mentored this young team of engineers to enable them to improve upon the current state of the keratoprosthesis market for the benefit of patients.