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Purdue University researchers have invented a new smart drainage device to help patients with glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness in the world, as they try to save their eyesight.
Glaucoma can be treated only with medications or surgical implants, both of which offer varying degrees of success in helping to improve eye sightings. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about 3 million Americans have glaucoma.
Implantable glaucoma drainage devices have grown in popularity over the past few years, but only in the aftermath of these devices. This problem is known as biofouling.
"Said Hyowon" Hugh "Lee, an assistant professor in Purdue's Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and a researcher at the Birck Nanotechnology Center, who led the research team. "It is able to clear itself from harmful bio-buildup."
The purdue glaucoma drainage device is built with microactuators that vibrate when a magnetic field is introduced. The vibrations shake loose the biomaterials that have built up in the tube.
"We can introduce the magnetic field from outside the body at any time to a fresh supply," Lee said. "Our on-demand technology allows for a more reliable, safe and effective implant for treating glaucoma."
The Purdue technology is published in the latest issue of Microsystems and Nanoengineering. Another unique aspect of the device is its ability to vary its resistance, which allows the drainage technology to be adapted for each patient at different stages of glaucoma with varying degrees of pressure buildup inside the eye.
Other members of the Purdue research team include Arezoo Ardekani, associate professor of mechanical engineering, and Simon John from the Jackson Laboratory.
The Purdue's Giant Leaps Celebration, acknowledging the university's global advancements in health at Purdue's 150th anniversary. This is one of the four themes of the yearlong celebration's Ideas Festival, designed to showcase Purdue as an intellectual center solving real-world issues.
Researchers are working with the Purdue Office of Commercialization Technology to patent the technology. They are looking for partners to license it.
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Materials provided by Purdue University. Note: Content can be edited for style and length.
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