People with glaucoma can be helped by using a device that electronically monitors their condition through a small antenna, researchers report.
In the study, conducted at the University of California, San Diego, researchers monitored 40 patients who had been fitted with the device, known as Triggerfish. In 36 of 40 cases, Triggerfish successfully recorded changes in the patients’ conditions. All the subjects wore Triggerfish devices for two separate 24-hour periods.
Glaucoma is produced by elevated pressure within the eye (Intraocular Pressure, or IOP). The degree of IOP varies during the day, and the usual practice is to intermittently monitor IOP, or to do a 24-hour evaluation in a sleep lab. But the sleep-lab results can be unreliable in measuring the degree of IOP during sleep, when it is at its highest.
But Triggerfish has two tiny gauges that measure IOP around the clock and transmit the results to a small antenna attached to the skin around the eye. In turn, the antenna passes the information to a recorder the patient wears around the waist.
The sensitive monitoring helps ophthalmologists determine the best treatment for each patient.
"The current study demonstrates that [the] contact lens sensor is a safe and well-tolerated device for repeated use in glaucoma patients or those suspected of having the disease," the researchers said in a statement.
