Eyepatch With Dissolvable Needles Used to Treat Eye Disease
A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in Singapore has developed an eyepatch with dissolvable needles for use in treating eye diseases, according to a report in Medical Xpress. In their paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the group describes their eyepatch and how well it worked in mice.
Current methods used to treat eye diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration include applying eye drops or using needles to inject drugs. But eyedrops fail to deliver enough drugs and using needles to poke through the cornea can be risky. And neither method allows for applying doses of drugs over an extended period of time. For these reasons, scientists seek a better treatment. In this new effort, the researchers have come up with a new method that does not involve eyedrops or traditional needles—instead, dissolvable needles deliver an initial strong dose and then slowly deliver a secondary dose.