Contributors: Adan Villamarin, Stéphane Bigler, Nikos Stergiopulos, Sylvain Roy (group leader)
Collaborators: Prof. A. Mermoud, Clinique de Montchoisi, Lausanne; Prof. R. Gurny, U. of Geneva
Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness in the world (> 60 million people worldwide). It usually occurs when the intraocular pressure (IOP) gradually rises resulting in permanent damage to the optic nerve. Medications and filtering surgery are two possible therapies available for patients suffering from this disease. Implantable glaucoma drainage devices (GDD) have been developed to allow better outflow of the aqueous humor. However, none of the currently available GDD have been able to solve problems related to postoperative hypotony, long-term fibrosis formation and the need to adjust filtration to the patient specific post-operative needs.
Our work is focused on the development, characterization and testing of a new telemetricaly controlled adjustable glaucoma drainage device (AGDD) that allows a continuous control of the outflow resistance.