Tech Briefs Magazine - April 2024 - 32

Smart Contact Lenses to Diagnose Glaucoma
Micro-sensors in the contact lenses can monitor and detect changes in eye pressure which
signal possible glaucoma.
Northumbria University, United Kingdom
U
sually developing slowly over time,
many cases of glaucoma are only
picked up during routine eye tests,
by which time lasting damage may
already have been caused. But this
could change in future as academics
from the U.K. and Türkiye have
developed a contact lens which can
detect changes in eye pressure which
signal possible glaucoma.
Glaucoma occurs when the optic
nerve, which connects the eye to the
brain, becomes damaged, usually by a
build-up of fluid in the front part of
the eye which increases pressure inside
the eye - known as intra-ocular
pressure (IOP).
The new contact lenses contain micro-sensors
which monitor changes
in IOP over a period of several hours,
sending the data collected wirelessly
so it can be analyzed by an ophthalmologist
and a diagnosis given.
The research has been carried
out by Professor Hamdi Torun, of
Northumbria University; and Professors
Günhan Dündar and Arda D.
Yalcinkaya, of Boğaziçi University, in
Istanbul, and has been published in
Contact Lens and Anterior Eye, the official
Journal of the British Contact Lens
Association. Their paper sets out the
findings from their initial pilot study of
six participants.
Having determined that the technology
works successfully, they now
plan to carry out a further study with
a larger group of participants, which
will take place over the next year. The
lenses will then be made commercially
available through their spin-off company
GlakoLens.
One of the benefits of using the
GlakoLens contact lenses to diagnose
glaucoma instead of carrying out a traditional
examination is that measurements
can be taken more easily over a
longer period of time, giving a more
accurate diagnosis.
As Professor Torun explained: " Intra-ocular
pressure, or IOP, can vary
32
Professor Hamdi Torun pictured with the contact lens. (Image: Simon Veit-Wilson/Northumbria University)
greatly over a 24-hour period, so it is
important to monitor the patient either
at intervals or ideally continuously for a
whole day to get the best insight into the
health of their eyes. Traditional methods
for measuring IOP involve initially going
to a clinic for a single measurement in a
day, the result of which can be misleading
due to the natural variation of IOP. "
" If a variation is detected, further
investigation is then needed which requires
hospitalisation for a whole day,
during which repeated measurements
are taken using a technique called Goldmann
applanation tonometry, which involves
numbing the eye with drops and
then using a small cone to touch the cornea
to measure the pressure, " he added.
" However, studies have shown that waking
patients up at night to carry out measurements
can make the results less accurate,
in addition to obvious discomfort
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to the patients and the economic cost to
the healthcare system. "
According to Torun, the benefit of
these contact lenses is that once placed
in the eye, the patient can then go about
their day as normal while their IOP measurements
are recorded and sent to a
doctor for analysis once the 24-hour period
of testing is complete.
The new system has been tested with
six healthy volunteers, during which
time they were asked to drink 1.5 L of
water and lie flat to intentionally increase
their IOP levels.
While this is not the first time contact
lenses have been developed to measure
IOP, previous products have used an
electrically active silicon chip, which results
in a thicker, less comfortable lens.
The chip also makes the lens less flexible
and can restrict vision, making it more
difficult to carry out daily activities.
Tech Briefs, April 2024

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