EYE CLINIC

ALTERNATIVE SMART OCULAR IMPLANTS WITH CONTROLLED OPHTHALMIC PHARMACOKINETICS | EYE CLINIC - EMMETROPIA

Alternative smart ocular implants with controlled ophthalmic pharmacokinetics 2018 – 2021

 

Brief Description:

Glaucoma is the second most common cause of blindness worldwide. It is estimated that in 2010, 60.5 million people worldwide had some form of glaucoma and this figure will reach 79.6 million by 2020. Glaucoma is a group of ophthalmic diseases that lead to progressive damage of the optical nerve responsible for the transfer of information in the brain. Without some kind of intervention, most types of
glaucoma are deteriorating. If it is not treated immediately, the vision loss is irreversible and this has led to glaucoma being addressed as the "thief of vision". With the appropriate treatment, glaucoma can be cured. The reduction of intraocular pressure (IOP) is associated with slowing down to a great extent the risk of the disease progression. The thickness and the mechanical properties of the cornea are the main parameters influencing the IOP measurement.

Nowadays, the majority of people with glaucoma will have to use eye drops to tackle the problem. The biggest hurdle arising from their continued use is that many patients do not comply with their treatment. In attempting to address the above problem, various drug delivery systems have been developed that have limited the incidence, but have failed to overcome significant limitations such as the delivery of hydrophobic drugs and their high cost.

Therefore, it is necessary to develop new and innovative systems with the following advantages:
i) flexible and stable systems for their suitable placement in the corneal area according to their thickness and size;
ii) ideal properties (optical, surface, mechanical and biological) of the controlled drug delivery system in the area where the problem occurs;
iii) suitable intraocular pressure sensor systems located at various points of the cornea, which according to the eye movement (during drug administration), they will record the IOP at regular intervals.

In this context, the collaboration of Emmetropia with the two research organisations (FORTH and HMU) envisages the development of innovative devices known as "Alternative Smart Ocular Patches with Controlled Ophthalmic Pharmacokinetics" to improve the treatment of glaucoma.

 

General Information

Program Title : Alternative Smart Ocular Patches with Controlled Ophthalmic Pharmacokinetics

Acronym : EOF

Project Code :  Τ1ΕΔΚ-02024

Project Start Date: 04.06.2018            

Project Due Date: 03.06.2021

COORDINATOR : Emmanouil Stratakis, IESL, FORTH, HERAKLION CRETE

CONSORTIUM INSTITUTES: EMMETROPIA, HERAKLION CRETE, HELLENIC MEDITERRANEAN UNIVERSITY (HMU), HERAKLION, CRETE

Funding : This research has been co‐financed by the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union and Greek national funds through the Operational Program Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, under the call RESEARCH – CREATE – INNOVATE (project code:T1EDK-02024

 

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