A first-in-human pilot study has shown the effectiveness of an electrically passive, non-invasive contact lens (CL) to monitor intraocular pressure (IOP) over 24 hours, according to its Turkish and UK developers. 

Writing in Contact Lens and Anterior Eye, the research team, from Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne and Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, said the lens’ sensing technology is based on an electrically passive sensor embedded in a disposable soft contact lens and a wearable antenna patch which collects, stores and processes IOP data. The system has been tested in six healthy volunteers in whom deliberate IOP changes were induced via water-loading and being placed in supine position. “The initial data suggest that, compared with tonometer measurements, the system can be used to assess the variation of IOP continuously,” they wrote. 

The team said their ‘GlakoLens’ has potential advantages over IOP-monitoring CLs already on the market, noting the Sensimed Triggerfish has shown a weak correlation between system data and external IOP measurements, while Implandata Ophthalmic Products’ Eyemate-SC implant has been shown to provide accurate measurements but requires invasive and medically complex procedures. 

“We believe this technology has huge potential and could not only save the sight of patients in the early stages of glaucoma but also provide early diagnosis of other diseases in future,” said co-author Professor Hamdi Torun of Northumbria University.