An E-interwoven Therapeutic Contact Lens System for Rapid Drug Delivery and Precision Dose Monitoring

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Ophthalmology
• Materials Science

Background:

• Glaucoma treatment requires precise intraocular pressure (IOP) management.
• Current ocular drug delivery systems lack in situ dosage verification, leading to treatment inefficiencies.
• There is a need for advanced systems for rapid and verifiable ocular drug delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a wireless therapeutic smart contact lens (SCL) with integrated rapid drug delivery and real-time dosage monitoring.
• To achieve faster and more accurate ocular drug delivery compared to traditional methods.
• To demonstrate the efficacy of the SCL in managing IOP in glaucoma models.

Main Methods:

• An ultra-thin, e-interwoven tri-interdigital configuration was designed for integrated drug delivery and sensing electrodes.
• A frequency-matching strategy was employed to enhance voltage coupling for drug release.
• Brimonidine tartrate-loaded hydrogel was utilized for drug delivery, and a built-in sensor monitored release dosage.
• The SCL's performance was evaluated in acute glaucoma rabbit models.

Main Results:

• The SCL achieved high concentrations of brimonidine tartrate in the aqueous humor within 20 minutes.
• The integrated drug dose sensor demonstrated high accuracy (<2.8 µg) with a linear correlation between frequency drift and release dosage.
• In rabbit models, the SCL suppressed peak IOP elevation by 85.7% compared to eye drops.

Conclusions:

• The developed wireless therapeutic SCL is a highly integrated platform for rapid and precise glaucoma treatment.
• This technology offers real-time dosage verification, addressing a critical limitation of current ocular delivery systems.
• The SCL shows significant potential for improving vision preservation in glaucoma patients through enhanced IOP management.