Glaucoma patients have the option of using medication or surgical implants to save their eyesight but the degrees of success vary from surgery to surgery. In order to offer more stable results, a Purdue team came up with a new idea: magnetic implants.
Your usual glaucoma drainage devices are only capable of operating for five years due to the microorganisms that accumulate on the device in all that time. The Purdue device has the advantage of being able to clean itself by using microactuators that vibrate whenever a magnetic field is induced.
Hyowon Lee/ Purdue University
The implant can change its flow resistance as well, which could mean that it can be customized to fit different needs and work around the ever-changing glaucoma that develops differently for different patients.
At the moment, the researchers work alongside the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization to patent the technology and they are hoping to find partners to license it as well, so there might still be a while before we see it at work in the medical field.
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Jay Andre
November 13, 2018 at 4:39 am
I’m 76, and the glaucoma in my left eye has damaged the optic nerve so now there is only very blurry vision, kinda like when a bathroom mirror fogs up! I’ve been using drops for years. Lumigan, Combigan, and Azopt. I’ve also had cataract surgery in both eyes. The right eye is fine. No glaucoma in it. I know that this surgery is experimental at the present time. Do you think it would give me even some semblance of vision? If so, you have my complete permission to use me. I would like some quality of life in however remaining years I have left. I’m very healthy, no diseases,ever, never smoked or did any drugs. Other than those drops I mentioned, I only take 2 blood pressure pills, and a Naproxen 2x’s daily for Arthritis pain. That’s it. Would really like to have “some vision” restored. Thank you for your time in this matter. Sincerely, Jay Andre
Mara Anton
November 13, 2018 at 12:12 pm
Hi Jay! At the moment, researchers are working to patent the technology so it’s going to take a while until this becomes available to the general public. However, if you want to get a medical opinion on its benefits for you, you may contact Hyowon “Hugh” Lee, email address: hwlee@purdue.edu from Purdue University. Thank you for reading!