Patients with glaucoma will be saved from blindness by an implantable barometer
A description of the development was published in the journal Nature Medicine (Araci et al., An implantable microfluidic device for self-monitoring of intraocular pressure).
Glaucoma is a group of chronic eye diseases characterized by impaired outflow of intraocular fluid, which leads to increased intraocular pressure, subsequent atrophy of the optic nerve and complete blindness. Glaucoma ranks second in the world after cataracts among the causes of vision loss and affects, according to rough estimates, about 65 million people. There are currently no unified ideas about the causes and mechanism of the development of the disease, as well as effective methods of its treatment.
Glaucoma therapies are mainly aimed at controlling the growth of intraocular pressure, so this indicator requires regular monitoring, for which patients have to visit an ophthalmologist. However, due to the fact that intraocular pressure depends on factors such as time of day and body position, its simultaneous measurement may be useless, a dynamic picture of changes in this parameter is necessary for a correct assessment of the patient's condition.
To solve this problem, researchers have built into the intraocular lens (artificial lens), which is implanted in place of the natural lens after cataract surgery, a sensor device several millimeters long, which works as a miniature barometer, allowing the patient to get data on his intraocular pressure at any time and save the history of fluctuations of this parameter.
Images illustrating the location and operation of the device.
(A drawing from a popular retelling of the work on the Medical Xpress website:
Researchers develop artificial lens based glaucoma sensor – VM.)
The device consists of a tube encircling the lens, one end of which is immersed in the eye tissue, and the second ends with a gas tank. Under the influence of pressure, the intraocular fluid rises through the tube. The more the tube is filled, the higher the intraocular pressure. A specially designed camera attached to a smartphone with an optical adapter, when brought to the eye, transmits data on the height of the intraocular fluid column to the appropriate application that converts them into digital expression. This information can be accessed in real time by both the patient and his attending physician via remote access.
The main disadvantage of the development, the authors admit, is its availability only for a limited number of patients who have undergone cataract surgery with the installation of an artificial lens. However, scientists predict that if clinical trials of such a device are successful, it can be further improved in such a way as to be implanted into the iris of an otherwise healthy eye.
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