Intraocular pressure-related parameters obtained with 24-hour recording with a CLS (contact lens sensor) were associated with the rate of visual field progression in treated glaucomatous eyes. This technology may be useful in detecting eyes at higher risk of glaucoma progression while receiving treatment.
Study shows that signals from wearable device can help identify patients more likely to deteriorate quickly. A contact lens with a built-in sensor could help determine which glaucoma patients have a higher risk of disease progression. Researchers found certain patterns of electrical signals emitted from the “smart” contact lenses correlate with a faster rate of glaucoma progression.
Glaucoma remains a leading cause of blindness. One of the main indicators of the disease is high pressure in the eye, or intraocular pressure. Doctors often check eye pressure to gauge a patient’s eye health. However, these tests yield a single snapshot in time and are impractical to perform at night when eye pressure typically rises. With the advent of smart contact lenses that monitor patients continuously, scientists are hoping to solve that problem.
METHOD: Researchers at Columbia tested the lenses on 40 patients 40-89yo with open-angle glaucoma, the most common form of the disease. Over 2 years, scientists performed at least 8 standard visual field tests on these patients. Half were classified as having slow disease progression while the other 20 had fast disease progression.
The patients then wore a smart contact lens for 24 hours, including overnight as they slept which detects changes in lens curvature. As eye pressure fluctuates, the curve changes, generating an electrical signal sent to a wireless device that records the signals. Similar to how an EKG shows a heartbeat, the profile of signals from the smart lens indirectly shows eye pressure changes over time.
RESULTS: Patients with steeper spikes recorded overnight and a greater number of peaks in their signal profile overall tended to have faster glaucoma progression.Cinicians can better estimate the risk of progression by looking at a readout from the smart lens. The findings could also have implications when using the lenses to evaluate glaucoma treatments. This could be very useful if you want to know whether a new medication is working for a patient.
Sensimed Triggerfish® contact lens system used in this study is approved in Europe but does not currently have approval from FDA. Other contact lens systems that can continuously measure eye pressure are also in development. http://www.aao.org/newsroom/news-releases/detail/smart-contact-helps-predict-disease-progression
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