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Health: Smart Contact Lens For Glaucoma Patients

By Stephanie Stahl

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in the United States.

The Food and Drug Administration has recently approved a contact lens for glaucoma patients that doctors say will help them know whether the disease will progress slowly or quickly in a patient.

Paul Siegfried has been living with glaucoma for fifteen years.

"If you get the diagnosis you should take it very seriously," said Paul.

Glaucoma damages the optic nerve which can leave patients with vision loss and even blindness.

Pressure inside the eye is the only risk factor that can be controlled.

Paul took part in a new study that tested a smart contact lens on 40 glaucoma patients. As eye pressure fluctuates, a sensor in the lens detects changes in the curvature of the eye.

"This contact lens allows us to differentiate those who were progressing faster from those who were stable," said  Dr. C. Gustavo de Moraes an associate professor of ophthalmology at New York-Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center.

Patients wear a wireless device that sends a read-out to the ophthalmologist. Doctors say the ultimate goal of the smart lens is to help monitor patients continuously, day and night.

"We have no way of measuring pressure at night at the moment," said Dr. Jeffrey Liebmann of  New York-Presbyterian ColumbiaUniversity Medical Center. "We are missing critical pieces of information to help us make decisions."

Paul's test results showed he is at low risk for his glaucoma advancing quickly.

"Maybe I would have trouble in my 80's or 90's, " he said. "And if I make it that far, I can live with that."

The 68-year-old is able to manage with just eye drops and sees his ophthalmologist regularly. Researchers say this lens could help doctors evaluate glaucoma medications to see if they are working for a patient.

The study was conducted at New York Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center and was recently published in the journal Ophthalmology.

 

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