For Glaucoma-Monitoring Sensor Design, Researchers Looked to the Butterfly Wing
An easy-to-use implant sensor for at-home glaucoma monitoring developed by researchers at Caltech and tested at UC San Francisco could significantly benefit patients by providing convenient, on-demand self-monitoring and physicians by more effectively tailoring individual treatments.
“Sensors based on nanostructures on a transparent butterfly wing may one day help preserve vision in glaucoma patients worldwide,” said co-senior author David Sretavan, MD, PhD, professor of ophthalmology at UCSF, on the study that appeared online April 30, 2018, in Nature Nanotechnology. “The sensor currently is less than a millimeter in size, with the goal of further miniaturization so it eventually can be implanted via a quick, simple procedure in the doctor’s office.”