Retinopathy of prematurity is a major cause of blindness in children. Is there a better way to identify these children earlier? CHOP Expert Commentary
Tag: Ophthalmology
Wireless Eye Implant Continuously Measures Intraocular Pressure (VIDEO)
Measuring a person’s intraocular pressure (IOP) can help diagnose and monitor glaucoma, but just like blood pressure it varies and can be subject to the “white coat effect.” Continuous monitoring of IOP to detect spikes is practically impossible when using a traditional tonometer, but a new eye implant from Germany’s Implandata Ophthalmic Products that makes this possible has been implanted in a first patient as part of a European clinical trial.
The trial of the Pro-IOP implant involves open angle glaucoma patients who are getting cataracts removed. As part of the typical procedure of exchanging a diseased intraocular lens for an artificial one, the wireless device is placed in front of the lens. It can then monitor the IOP continuously, or whenever requested via a control unit, and the data transmitted via the cellular network to a physician for review. Here’s more information about the implant:
Vittamed’s Non-Invasive Intracranial Pressure and Cerebrovascular Autoregulation Monitors Cleared in EU (VIDEOS)
Vittamed out of Carlisle, MA received European CE Mark approval for its non-invasive intracranial pressure meter and non-invasive cerebrovascular autoregulation monitor. The Vittamed 205 intracranial pressure monitor works by applying pressure to the tissue surrounding the eye using a special pressure cuff. A Doppler ultrasound transducer placed over the eye measures blood flow through the intracranial and extracranial parts of the ophthalmic artery. The blood flow through the extracranial segment changes as the pressure is applied to the eye, while the intracranial segment responds to the intracranial pressure. Applying pressure to the eye until the blood flow matches in the two segments of the ophthalmic artery results in equal pressure in both parts and a readout is produced by the system. This technique does not require calibration for each patient and the company claims there’s little to no discomfort during the procedure.
Automatic Test Detects Secondary Cataracts with High Precision
After cataract surgery a troubling number of patients develop posterior capsule opacity, also known as a “secondary cataract,” whereby a cloudy membrane develops behind the newly implanted lens. Recognizing this condition normally requires expert analysis, and while automated systems exist that detect lens opacity, they are not looking for creeping growth of cells onto the new lens.
Researchers at University of Alicante in Spain have now developed fully automatic software that provides a proper diagnosis of posterior capsule opacity from magnified images of the ocular fundus. The researchers claim this is a highly accurate system that detects the growing cells that infect the implanted intraocular lenses.
FDA OKs Aflibercept (Eylea) for Diabetic Macular Edema
The drug is the first VEGF inhibitor that can be taken for less than once a month for this eye problem, the manufacturer has noted. FDA Approvals
Novartis Says Alcon Glaucoma Treatment Approved in EU
Novartis said the European Commission has approved its eyecare unit Alcon’s Simbrinza eye drops suspension to decrease elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in adults with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. International Approvals
New Eye Monitoring Device Spots Early Signs of Diabetes
Autonomic neuropathy is a common complication arising from diabetes, causing side effects like gastroparesis, erectile dysfunction, and other conditions due to damaged autonomic nerves. Early detection of diabetic autonomic neuropathy can have substantial benefits to patients thanks to treatment commencing sooner than it does now. Now researchers at National Taiwan University Hospital and National Chiao-Tung University in Taiwan developed an optical sensor that hangs off a pair of glasses and helps spot autonomic neuropathy by monitoring the activity of the eye for a half hour.
The device shines light from four color LEDs into the eye in order to stimulate the pupil to change size. It does this repeatedly, changing certain parameters, while a camera watches the pupil dilate in response to the light. By measuring the size of the pupil, its response time, and response speed, the researchers have shown that the new pupillometer may be a new modality for spotting autonomic neuropathy much earlier than what doctors are currently able to do. There are more extensive clinical trials planned to confirm the efficacy of the technology, with the hope that in a few years we’ll have convenient glasses that a patient can wear during a regular checkup to check for early signs of diabetes.
Behavior Therapy May Help Prevent Depression Over Vision Loss
For older people with central vision loss, combining occupational therapy with behavior therapy to keep them from becoming too isolated may prevent depression, according to a new study. Reuters Health Information
Retinal Implants: A Systematic Review
This review highlights some of the advantages and limitations of current retinal prostheses. The British Journal of Ophthalmology
Strabismus Risk Much Higher in Very Low Birth Weight Infants
The risk for strabismus was 14 times higher in very premature infants who weighed less than 2000 g at birth, independent of gestational age. Medscape Medical News
Lessons for the Practicing Ophthalmologist
You won’t want to miss these highlights of clinical eye research from Wills Eye Hospital. Wills Eye Hospital
More Years of School Correspond to More Nearsightedness
More years of education may mean increased likelihood of myopia. Medscape Medical News
Ocular Surface Diseases and Corneal Refractive Surgery
Gain a better understanding of the pathophysiology and management of postoperative ocular surface disease. Current Opinion in Ophthalmology
Novartis and Google to Develop ‘Smart’ Contact Lens
Swiss drugmaker Novartis has struck an agreement with Google to develop “smart” contact lenses that would help diabetics track their blood glucose levels or restore the eye’s ability to focus.
Reuters Health Information
ZEISS Digital Lenses to Help Reduce Eye Fatigue from Using Mobile Devices (VIDEO)
There’s a good chance that you’re reading this text on your tablet or smartphone, holding the device a short distance from your eyes. Often you just glance at your phone to check the time or send a quick text message, and doing this hundreds of times a day can be pretty stressful on the eyes. To help people fight so called Digital Eye Strain brought on by the modern age, ZEISS is releasing new eyeglass lenses that reduce fatigue caused by repeatedly switching between looking near and far.
Designed for people with normal vision and those that typically wear spectacles, the lenses feature an area toward the bottom that magnifies nearby objects. Distance vision remains unaffected, while a short transition zone makes it easy to quickly switch from near and far viewing.
U.S. News Ranks Miami Hospital Top in Ophthalmology
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute-Anne Bates Leach Eye Hospital earned the top spot on a US ophthalmology hospitals list. Medscape Medical News
Google and Novartis Combine Expertise to Produce Smart Contact and Intraocular Lenses
Back in January of this year, Google unveiled an electronic contact lens that it’s been secretly developing by its X research group. The device is capable of measuring glucose levels in the wearer’s tears, a technology that may one day replace finger pricks for millions of diabetics. Additionally, there are plans to embed LED lights into the lens to automatically warn the user when glucose is outside of healthy levels. But Google is not a medical company, so it has partnered with Alcon, a division of Novartis, to turn the device into a real product.
Besides commercializing a glucose monitoring lens, the collaboration also aims to develop a solution for presbyopia, an eye condition that prevents the natural lens from properly auto-focusing. Such a device will either be an accomodative contact lens or intraocular lens implanted during refractive cataract surgery. The collaboration hopes that by bringing together Google’s experts in electronic design and manufacturing with Alcon’s expertise in physiology and lens design, we’ll be seeing commercialized products within as little as five years. It’s not exactly a time frame Google is used to, but as Larry Page noted recently, “.. it’s just a painful business to be in.”
Implementation of Nurse-Delivered Intravitreal Injections
Can these injections be safely administered by nurse practitioners? Eye
An Infant With Poor Visual Response
What condition do you suspect is present in this 11-month-old boy with roving eye movements who is unable to fixate on a target? Medscape Ophthalmology
Doxycycline Fails to Slow Diabetic Retinopathy Progression
Doxycycline does not appear to improve retinal function or slow diabetic retinopathy progression in patients with mild to moderate nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), according to results from a proof-of-concept clinical trial. Reuters Heal…