Doctors and researchers at the University of California, San
Diego Shiley Eye Center have launched the first large-scale
clinical trials in the United States of a futuristic “smart
contact lens” that measures internal eye pressure—a key risk
factor for glaucoma, the second leading cause of preventable
blindness in the world. Though the causes of glaucoma remain
murky, high intraocular pressure (IOP) or excessive pressure
within the eye appears to be causal in many individuals,
promoting deterioration of the optic nerve and progressive loss
of vision eventually leading to blindness. Doctors can slow or
prevent the progression of glaucoma by reducing IOP with drugs,
but their working knowledge of their patients' conditions
traditionally has been limited to an occasional pressure reading
obtained during an office visit. “It's a snapshot in time,” said
Robert N. Weinreb, MD., chair of the department of ophthalmology
at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and director of the
Shiley Eye Center at UC San Diego. “Cur