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We are an ageing society and as such there are more and more eye related illnesses that require drug companies constant development of more effective treatments. Doctors may be better equipped to treat diseases of the tissues in the back of the eye like Macular Degeneration thanks to minute micro needles.
These tiny needles less than one millimetre each in length have been demonstrated by researchers in the US to deliver molecular drugs and particles direct to the eye in animal subjects.
The targeted suprachoroidal space of the eye acts like a natural causeway for drugs injected to the sclera to flow evenly into the back of the eye, without being invasive.
Current methods including eye drops can have only limited effectiveness in treating some diseases so this research is an exciting development.
Ultimately the development of the procedure could provide a simple and safe alternative for doctors to provide target specific treatment in the eye. As the design of the micro needle is also very simplistic it's feasible it could be used within clinics for administering drug formulations into the suprachoroidal eye space. The research has further shown that that this space could accept various drugs touching on the possibility of time released medications that would reduce the need for some patients to have frequent injections for chronic eye illnesses.
Currently, eye doctors generally have just two choices for administering drugs to the eye: these are drops and injection with a hypodermic needle directly into the vitreous at the eyes centre. The injections can however affect other areas of the eye which is less than ideal. While easy to administer solution drops, often fail to reach and treat the target area needing medication.
With pharmaceutical companies now researching and developing new medication for eye disease they will be more effective if they can be administered direct to those areas that need treatment. The other bonus of the micro needles is that they will not cause as much trauma to the eye as a more traditional hypodermic needle. Thereby reducing secondary risk of infection as well.
The research used only model compounds that were fluoresced inside the subjects eye so it was evident when the target had been reached. The next step is to study how the technique will work with real drugs to the eye structures of particular interest.