Purpose: Reliable and regular assessment of intraocular pressure (IOP) is important for the monitoring of patients with glaucoma. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a novel system for the automated, noncontact measurement of IOP.
Patients and methods: A first-generation telemetric IOP sensor was previously implanted in the ciliary sulcus of six patients with open-angle glaucoma during cataract surgery. Using this technology, automated noninvasive tonometry may be performed in a home setting. In the present study, a modified sleep mask and a modified eyepatch with incorporated coil antennae for measurements during nighttime and daytime, respectively, were tested on a single patient.
Results: In this feasibility study, the 24 h wear of the prototype measuring apparatus was well tolerated. Three sequences of 24 h IOP measurements with at least 200 IOP measurements per day were performed (Sequence 1: mean 19.6 ± 2.7 mmHg, range 13.4-28.7 mmHg; Sequence 2: mean 21.0 ± 3.0 mmHg, range 13.1-30.5 mmHg; Sequence 3: mean 19.9 ± 2.4 mmHg, range 12.6-27 mmHg).
Conclusions: For the first time, repeated and automated 24-hour measurements are possible using a prototype noncontact reading system after implantation of a novel telemetric IOP sensor in patients with glaucoma.