BostonSight Receives MMAP Grant to Expand and Automate Scleral Lens Manufacturing

BostonSight, a nonprofit healthcare organization that advances the treatment of diseased and damaged corneas and dry eye, announced it has received a $200,000 manufacturing grant from the Massachusetts Manufacturing Accelerate Program (MMAP) to advance its scleral lens manufacturing capabilities. 

With the grant, BostonSight will purchase a new DAC ALM lathe with a Universal 1000 Autoloader. The Autoloader is a robotic assembly system that automates loading the plastic buttons that are cut and shaped to create custom Prose devices and BostonSight Scleral lenses at BostonSight’s manufacturing lab in Needham, Massachusetts. Prose devices and BostonSight Scleral lenses are rigid gas-permeable contact lenses designed to save sight, improve visual acuity, and reduce pain in people with dry eye, damaged corneas, and ocular surface diseases. 

“We are thrilled to receive these funds from MMAP,” said Sara Yost, BostonSight CEO and President. “By adding an Autoloader to BostonSight’s production line, we will enhance our capabilities through innovative, emerging technology, streamline our manufacturing processes, and expand our manufacturing capacity to deliver Prose devices and BostonSight Scleral lenses to all who can benefit from this life changing treatment. BostonSight has always been ‘patient-first’ and this improvement in efficiency directly benefits patients.”

The Autoloader will be the first-of-its-kind to enter BostonSight’s manufacturing facility. It will extend the daily runtime of the lathe, increasing BostonSight’s manufacturing capacity to meet increasing year-over-year demand. It will also allow lab technicians to focus on more intricate phases of the manufacturing process, increasing their skill level and, overall, advancing operational capability, according to BostonSight. 

The MMAP grant program is managed by the Center for Advanced Manufacturing at MassTech (CAM) and helps small to medium-sized manufacturers in Massachusetts scale their businesses to compete in the modern manufacturing economy. The grant funds are awarded based on several criteria, including demonstration of operational improvements and efficiencies and the ability to reach new markets and customers.