New Glaucoma Test Allows Earlier, More Accurate Detection

Jan. 3, 2011

Ophthalmologist and engineering professor develop glaucoma home test.

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close up of eye

According to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness, there is no cure, everyone is at risk, and there may be no symptoms to warn you. More than 4 million Americans have glaucoma but only half know they have it.

Cumbersome glaucoma tests that require a visit to the ophthalmologist could soon be history thanks to a home test developed by a UA engineer.

The self-test instrument has been designed in Eniko Enikov's lab at the UA College of Engineering. Gone are the eye drops and need for a sterilized sensor. In their place is an easy-to-use probe that gently rubs the eyelid and can be used at home.

"You simply close your eye and rub the eyelid like you might casually rub your eye," said Enikov, a professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering. "The instrument detects the stiffness and, therefore, infers the intraocular pressure." Enikov also heads the Advanced Micro and Nanosystems Laboratory.

While the probe is simple to use, the technology behind it is complex, involving a system of micro-force sensors, specially designed microchips, and math-based procedures programmed into its memory.

Enikov began working on the probe four years ago in collaboration with Dr. Gholan Peyman, a Phoenix ophthalmologist. "We went through several years of refinement and modifications to arrive at the current design," Enikov noted.