Revolutionary IIT Madras Study: Mild Laser Heating Dramatically Enhances Eye Treatment Effectiveness
Chennai, Oct 1: IIT Madras Researchers Enhance Eye Drug Delivery with Mild Laser Heating
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras have discovered that drugs injected into the human eye can be better delivered to the target region through convection caused by mild laser heating. This breakthrough study, published in the peer-reviewed Wiley Heat Transfer journal, employed simulation and modeling to evaluate the efficacy of different eye treatments, focusing on heat and mass transfer.
The study highlights that in patients who have undergone retinal laser surgery, the original gel-like vitreous humour often gets replaced by less viscous body secretions. Post-surgery, drugs are typically injected into the vitreous region to treat the retina. In natural diffusion, the drug can take several hours to days to reach the target area effectively.
Prof. Arunn Narasimhan, from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at IIT Madras, led an experiment using a glass eye mimic resembling the human eye. The setup included water and silicone oil for the vitreous liquid and a heater to simulate laser heating. They injected a dye as a drug mimic into the vitreous region and measured its concentration at different retinal locations with and without heating.
“While with natural diffusion alone, the drug mimic took 12 hours to achieve effective concentration at the target region of the retina, heating the vitreous liquid reduced it to just 12 minutes,” said Shirinvas Vibuthe, a Graduate Student at IIT Madras.
With nearly 11 million individuals in India suffering from retinal disorders, this indigenous research holds promise for advancing laser-based treatments for various eye diseases. Laser treatments are increasingly being used for retinal tears, diabetic retinopathy, macular edema, and retinal vein occlusion. Given that the retina houses critical blood vessels and nerves, these treatments require precision.
Narasimhan emphasized, “Using glass eye experiments and bio-heat simulations, we have shown that mild targeted heating can enhance drug delivery to the retina. The medical community needs to take this further and implement it in treating retinal diseases.”
The research underscores the potential for improving retinal treatments through innovative approaches to drug delivery.
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