A wireless contact lens monitors eye pressure and delivers medication when needed. The animal experiment was successful.
Over 90,000 sufferers in Austria have glaucoma. The so-called “Green Star” is the most common cause of blindness in this country and should therefore not be confused with the more harmless cataracts. Glaucoma is an eye disease that damages the optic nerve and can lead to blindness if left untreated. It is painless and often goes unnoticed. “The central visual acuity only decreases in the final stages of the disease, when the majority of the optic nerve has already died. This unnoticed progress means that around 50 percent of people who suffer from glaucoma do not even know that they have the disease and therefore many do not of the patients are already visually impaired at the time of the initial diagnosis, because the diagnosis is usually made by chance.There are a large number of effective treatment options.Regular check-ups can prevent irreversible damage.
DANGER:The dangerous glaucoma is not with that Grey star to confuse. Cataracts are a very common eye condition, particularly in people over the age of 60. Most cataracts are age-related. It is a clouding of the lens that leads to impaired vision. The visual impression appears veiled and grey. Replacing the clouded natural lens with an artificial lens can be successfully treated.
Over 90,000 have glaucoma – there is a risk of blindness!
pressure sensor and applicator
Glaucoma is usually caused by increased pressure in the eye, usually due to fluid buildup. Chinese researchers designed a prototype contact lens that can measure eye pressure and release a glaucoma drug when needed. The “Sinexx” science platform explains the structure of the lens: the sensor and drug applicator are embedded between two layers of the plastic polydimethylsiloxane commonly used for soft contact lenses. The eye pressure sensor in the contact lens consists of an ultra-thin copper ring coated with nickel and gold with filaments projecting outwards in a star shape. These extensions respond to tiny deformations of the cornea caused by changes in eye pressure. If the tails are deflected, this changes the distance to a conductive reference layer and thus generates an electrical signal. This reflects the eye pressure.
The second component of the glaucoma contact lens is an applicator module that delivers the anti-hypertensive drug brimonidine to the eye when needed. For this purpose, two thin-film electrodes are embedded in a hydrogel mixed with the drug. If the sensor now detects increased intraocular pressure, it sends a signal to the electrodes, which then emit a slight voltage. This leads to the hydrogel releasing its load of active ingredients to the cornea. This design allows the necessary components to be integrated into the device without blocking the wearer’s vision or irritating the eye.
Successful in animal experiments
So far, the contact lenses have been tested on pig eyes and on the eyes of living rabbits – albeit with smaller lenses. It shows that the drug administered through the lens gradually lowers intraocular pressure by about a third over 30 minutes and helps maintain these levels over a longer period of time compared to the same drug administered through eye drops where the pressure quickly rose again. The study was published in the journal “Nature Communications” released. Tests on humans are still pending.
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