A novel robotic surgical system could dramatically improve outcomes for patients with glaucoma, given its remarkable level of precision, claims a team of research developers.
In 2019, the Netherlands-based Preceyes BV’s surgical robot was approved for use in Europe for patients requiring vitreoretinal surgery. Now a US team has developed a ‘glaucoma module’ adaptation for Preceyes. The unit has performed goniotomy and stent implantation in a synthetic eye with great precision and almost zero tremor, said co-developer Professor Sean Ianchulev, Icahn School of Medicine and director of ophthalmic innovation and technology at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai.
Speaking at the American Academy of Ophthalmology 2021 annual meeting, Prof Ianchulev said the robotic system allows surgeons to achieve accuracy of 1-2μm, an approximately 20 to 40 times increase over manual glaucoma surgery.
