Glaucoma treatment for everyone in the blink of an eye
Glaucoma is a chronic disease that is marked by progressive degeneration of the optic nerve and may lead to blindness. Disease progression is delayed by reducing intraocular pressure, caused by a build up of fluid in the eye, through life-long daily eye drops as a first line treatment. However, such treatment causes lack of patient compliance in nearly half of the cases.
A rapid laser treatment for glaucoma
The EU-funded GLAUrious project developed a non-invasive laser treatment for delaying glaucoma progression. Although repeatable laser therapy laser trabeculoplasty is currently used as a second line treatment, it is not accessible to everyone, as it requires glaucoma specialists and is usually expensive. “Our goal was to develop an automated laser treatment procedure that can be safely carried out by all ophthalmologists, rendering it a widely accessible primary treatment for glaucoma,” explains Nathan Congdon, professor at the Queen’s University Belfast and GLAUrious project coordinator. The external automatic glaucoma laser (EAGLE) device was developed by BELKIN Laser Ltd. and permits external treatment of the trabecular meshwork tissue, important in the regulation of eye pressure. The device is activated by a touchscreen, controlled by a high-resolution image acquisition algorithm and a proprietary eye tracker. The EAGLE device automatically identifies the exact location for treatment and delivers 100-120 laser applications automatically in less than 2 sec with a simple press of a button.
Advantages over current treatment modalities
According to Congdon: “EAGLE has the possibility to be a real game changer, bringing sight-saving glaucoma treatment to patients who have no access to specialist care.” EAGLE operates without coming into contact with the eye, contrary to standard therapy which uses a special type of lens that gently sits on the surface of the eye for at least 5 min. Importantly, EAGLE is easy to use and does not require considerable expertise, making application possible by general ophthalmologists. Unlike existing devices that may be inappropriate for patients with a narrow configuration of the front of the eye, termed narrow angle, EAGLE does not have such restrictions and can be employed to treat a broader range of patients. Pre-clinical evaluation of the device in animal models validated its safety, causing no alterations to the physiology of the eyes. The device is currently being compared against standard treatment in a clinical trial at the University of Genova, Italy, Queen’s University Belfast and Moorfields Eye Hospital in the United Kingdom, and in Israel. Nonetheless, data from a 6 month clinical evaluation suggest that EAGLE is as safe, and likely to be as effective, as the standard laser treatment in reducing intra-ocular pressure in patients with glaucoma. The GLAUrious innovative technology is expected to provide a solution for all types of glaucoma, increasing dramatically the number of treated patients, both in urban and rural areas. “Considering that 64 million people worldwide suffer from glaucoma and there are only 6 000 glaucoma specialists to provide treatment globally, widespread implementation of the EAGLE device in clinics and hospitals will offer a viable new treatment option,” comments Congdon. With a view to the future, Daria Lemann-Blumenthal, CEO of BELKIN Laser Ltd, envisages: “a fast, easy and effective treatment to impact the lives of millions of patients with glaucoma.”
Keywords
GLAUrious, glaucoma, EAGLE, laser treatment, ophthalmologist
