A University of Calgary Kinesiology researcher has come up with a new product that is said to be more effective in relieving dry eyes than any other product on the market.

Tannin Schmidt was studying knee osteoarthritis and was looking into how a particular lubricating protein, called lubricin, acts to grease the knee joint.

Schmidt's friend, who works for a company that makes a diagnostic for dry eye, suggested that he raise his focus from the knee to the eye.

That conversation led to another with the friend's father, David Sullivan, a PhD researcher at Schepens Eye Research Institute who soon discovered that lubricin is naturally present in our eyes and could be lubricating the eyelid when we blink.

"It seems to almost be Mother Nature's lubricant. We found this lubricin protein was originally discovered in the knee and in the heart and on your tendons where things slide," said Tannin Schmidt.

Schmidt set out create a mechanical device that could actually measure the friction between an eyelid and a cornea.

He needed human corneas to kick start his research and that's where the Lions Eye Bank came in.

"I phoned up Mijana Ridic at the Lions Eye Bank," recalls Schmidt, "and I was really grateful that she and the Eye Bank were so accommodating and helpful. Once the Lions understood what I was doing and saw the ethics approval, they were able to help; without them, this research would have never gotten off the ground."

The donated corneas were unfit for transplant but perfect for Schmidt's research.

Using his unique experimental set-up, Schmidt was soon able to show that his new eye drops were more effective at eye lubrication than any other product on the market today.

"It reduces friction at the eye tissue. It's better than the drops we tested. The ultimate test will be going to clinical trials and asking a patient, does this drop make your eye feel better than this drop?," said Schmidt.

The drops combine lubricin with hyaluronic acid and Schmidt is hopeful that they will be available to people who suffer from painful dry eyes, like those with Sjogren's Syndrome.

Schmidt's research is published in the January 2012 edition of the journal Eye & Contact Lens and a European pharmaceutical company is already looking toward a clinical trial in the near future.