Wearable electronic devices for glaucoma monitoring and therapy

Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, which is estimated to affect approximately 112 million people by 2040. Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is the most important risk factor for glaucoma, as well as the primary target for the treatment. Current therapies aim at IOP reduction to prevent the disease progression. The accurate and real-time measurement of IOP is therefore critical to evaluate treatment response and guide medical decisions. However, IOP fluctuates throughout the 24-hour cycle with different patterns from day to day in the same individual and also different patterns among individuals. The current clinical practice typically captures a single IOP measurement during “in-office hours”, and this is insufficient for disease monitoring. With the development of wearable electronic devices, a variety of IOP monitoring devices provide a unique potential for continuous IOP monitoring. In addition to IOP monitoring for glaucoma management, this mini-review also summarizes novel drug delivery devices for treating glaucoma. Because certain types of glaucoma do not show elevated IOP, we also discuss the potential to incorporate biomarker detection with IOP measurement for more accurate and reliable glaucoma diagnostics and therapies.