Implant To Measure Pressure And Help Treat Glaucoma

A joint research project from Californian and Israeli universities is currently investigating the possibility of an implant designed to help in the treatment of glaucoma. The device would allow sufferers to monitor their condition on a much more frequent basis in order to keep up to date with changes to their eyes, and thus be able to treat it more effectively.

Bar-Ilan is a public university based in Tel Aviv, Israel and is the second largest academic institution in the country at the time of writing. The university aims to fuse both the modern world and its technologies with more traditional aspects of Jewish heritage. Stanford University is based in California and is a private research university and considered amongst the very elite of world educational institutions.

The research that both universities are undertaking, involves the implanting of a pressure testing unit into the eye, which can detect changes which may affect the patients treatment programme. Normally associated with an increase in fluid pressure in the eye, glaucoma can lead to severe sight damage and loss if not treated early or correctly. The small device simply measures the build up of pressure in the eye and the hope is that it can then interface wirelessly to everyday smartphones to detail changes in the eye.