(July 01, 2015) Elevated
or diminished eye pressure impairs our ability to see, and in the worst cases,
can even lead to blindness. Until now, there has been no effective long-term
treatment. In response, Fraunhofer researchers are developing an implantable
microfluid system that can efficiently and durably stabilize intraocular
pressure.
Glaucoma and phthisis bulbi are incurable, insidious
diseases of the eye. While glaucoma impairs the normal effluence of internal
eye fluids, thereby elevating intraocular pressure, phthisis bulbi refers to a
condition in which the eye produces too little vitreous humor. The eye begins
to collapse upon itself: this is why it is sometimes referred to as atrophy of
the eyeball. In either situation, the affected patient may experience severely
impaired vision and possibly even blindness. Contemporary treatment approaches
definitely attenuate disease progression, nonetheless they are effective for
only a certain period. In glaucoma, for example, a surgeon creates an
additional, artificial effluence from inside the anterior ocular chamber. The
problem: in about one out of every four patients, scarring occurs after the
procedure that impedes drainage of intraocular fluid. By contrast, in phthisis
cases, the physician injects fluids like hyaluronic acid into the eye at
regular intervals - an unpleasant procedure that still cannot prevent blindness
in the immediate or distant future.
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Research Institution for
Microsysems and Modular Solid State Technologies EMFT are working on a new
approach to therapy: working jointly with several SMEs, they are engineering an
active implant that is intended to efficiently and sustainably regulate eye
pressure under the aegis of the MICROAUG project, under the KMU Innovativ
Program sponsored by the federal ministry for education and research (BMBF).
Geuder AG is spearheading the plan. “This way, we can spare the patient from
the strain of multiple follow-up procedures, and can preserve the ability to
see over a longer timeframe and, in the best case scenario, completely prevent
blindness,” says Christoph Jenke, Project Manager at EMFT.