Hope in sight for glaucoma patients

Glaucoma can result from raised eye pressure or a weakness in the optic nerve causing that nerve to be damaged, leading to permanent sight loss. Whilst there are medications and surgical implant possibilities, they come with varying degrees of success, and 50% of implants don’t last more than five years because microorganisms accumulate on it during and after the implant. Now researchers at Purdue University have developed a new smart drainage device that overcomes the accumulation issue. The glaucoma drainage device is built with microactuators that vibrate when a magnetic field is introduced and shake loose the biomaterials that have built up in the tube. The device can also vary flow resistance, which allows the drainage technology to customise treatment for each patient at different stages of glaucoma with varying degrees of pressure build-up inside the eye. The next step is to secure a patent and the means to license the smart drainage device.
Hyowon “Hugh” Lee, an assistant professor in Purdue’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and a researcher at the Birck Nanotechnology Centre, who led the research team, said: “We created a new drainage device that combats this problem of build-up by using advances in microtechnology. It is able to clear itself of harmful bio-build-up. This is a giant leap toward personalised medicine. We can introduce the magnetic field from outside the body at any time to essentially give the device a refresh. Our on-demand technology allows for a more reliable, safe and effective implant for treating glaucoma.”