Date: 12th October 2019
An injectable pressure sensor has been successfully trialled in-vivo in an animal study, monitoring and collecting long-term intraocular pressure (IOP) data.
Over 60 million people worldwide have glaucoma, and it is currently the leading cause of irreversible blindness.
Glaucoma damages the optic nerve, gradually reducing the sight of patients, but often without warning.
The disease is marked by an increase in intraocular pressure (IOP) and whilst there is currently no cure, monitoring IOP is crucial in monitoring the disease and instigating timely treatments.
Injectsense, a sensor-enabled digital health company based in California, US, has announced the successful demonstration of an animal-to-cloud IOP sensing pathway that will allow clinicians to assess glaucoma therapy effectiveness at any time.
A tiny self-anchoring sensor was implanted safely into an, as yet, undisclosed animal and data collected for a test period of one week with no adverse effects.
This platform offers a unique system for tracking disease progression indicators and offering real-time assessment of therapy effectiveness. It is hoped to transform our understanding of the relationship between IOP and glaucoma.
Application in multiple medical fields
The implantable device is, in effect, an accurate pressure sensor. Therefore, as a sensor-enabled digital health platform it can potentially translate into other diagnostic and therapeutic applications where pressure flow dynamics are indicative of disease, for example, intracranial or cardiovascular hypertension. Further uses in pre- and post-surgery monitoring may prove useful in a clinical setting.
Further work is also being performed by the team to configure different delivery options, and to increase the range of sensing parameters to include motion, electrical impulses, or chemical presence.
It hoped that this system will offer long-term stability of disease management, in a safe and practical manner, which is accessible to physicians. However, an important note of caution here is that this is currently only available for investigational use and further testing is the next step in the journey towards the clinic.
For a more in depth information, please read the press release
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