Smart drainage device could help save sight of people with glaucoma

According to RNIB, glaucoma is the name given to a group of eye conditions that cause permanent sight loss by damaging the optic nerve. The condition can be caused by raised eye pressure or a weakness in the optic nerve.

Medications or surgical implants are the only methods of treating glaucoma, both of which offer varying degrees of success in helping to improve sight and to relieve pressure build-up inside the eye.

Only half of current implantable glaucoma devices are still operational after five years because microorganisms accumulate on the device during and after implantation.

“We created a new drainage device that combats this problem of build-up by using advances in microtechnology,” said Hyowon “Hugh” Lee, an assistant professor in Purdue’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and a researcher at the Birck Nanotechnology Center, who led the research team. “It is able to clear itself of harmful bio-build-up. This is a giant leap toward personalised medicine.”