European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund – Professor Hakan Ürey & Professor Afsun Şahin

Prof. Hakan Ürey from the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Prof. Afsun Şahin from the School of Medicine received the first European Innovation Council (EIC) Grant at Koç University, under EU’s Horizon Europe funding program for research and innovation, which is a successor to the Horizon 2020 program. We are also one of the only two universities in Türkiye to have been awarded under this program.

The project, “Cataract Simulator Diagnostics Device Development Using Computational Holographic Displays”, uses computational holography, which controls phase, size and shape of the light beam entering through the eye-pupil and develops a holographic vision simulator for cataract patients. This system is to be the first cataract simulator for in-vivo testing of multifocal intraocular lens (IOL). Prof. Hakan Ürey and Prof. Afsun Şahin’s proposal submitted to the European Innovation Council (EIC) “Transition Challenges” call has been approved with a budget of 2 Million Euros.

The device makes it possible to create 3-dimensional images with even one eye, thanks to the holographic image creation. Furthermore, a clear image can be formed on the patient’s retina despite the “looking through frosted glass” effect created by the cataract. Clinical studies of the project, developed in an interdisciplinary arena where technology and medicine meet, will be carried out in Türkiye, Germany and Italy.