MICROPROCESSOR SELF-TONOMETER FOR HOME IOP MONITORING

IN TREATING GLAUCOMA, THE CLINICIAN ATTEMPTS TO LOWER THE INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE (IOP) BUT, BECAUSE IT IS NOT CONSTANT, A SINGLE MEASUREMENT DURING A VISIT TO THE OPHTHALMOLOGIST MAY BE UNRELIABLE. THE MEASUREMENT OF THE IOP AT THE PATIENT'S HOME HAS BEEN ADVOCATED BUT HAS BEEN HAMPERED BY THE LACK OF AN INSTRUMENT THAT CAN BE USED RELIABLY AND SAFELY BY THE PATIENT ALONE. A SELF-TONOMETER, RECENTLY DEVELOPED BY ACADEMIC RESEARCHERS, HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENTED IN CLINICAL RESEARCH. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO MAKE THE SELF-TONOMETER AVAILABLE TO THE OPHTHALMIC COMMUNITY BY CONVERTING THE PROTOTYPE INTO A COMMERCIAL PRODUCT. PHASE I WILL CONSIST OF INTRODUCING A MICROPROCESSOR TO CONTROL THE OPERATION, REGISTER AND CHECK THE READINGS, PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO PATIENT, AND ARCHIVE THE IOP, TIME, AND DATE UNTIL THE DATA ARE PROCESSED AT THE CLINICIAN'S OFFICE. A COMPUTER-CONTROLLED PRESSURE GENERATOR WILL ALSO BE DEVELOPED. THE UPGRADED VERSION WILL BE TESTED AND ITS FUNCTION COMPARED TO THAT OF THE EXISTING PROTOTYPE. PHASE II WILL BE DEDICATED TO SPECIFYING, DESIGNING, DEVELOPING, AND TESTING A COMMERCIAL PROTOTYPE.