A pair of goggles that patients wear for 30 minutes a day is being studied for effectiveness in stopping glaucoma progression. The medical device prompts the optic nerve to self-repair by sending pulses of electricity. Through small electrodes, low-level electrical impulses are sent to the skin surrounding the eye, promoting nerve cell regeneration. 

The manufacturer explains that the device stimulates the body’s natural healing process. Made by the South Korean company Nu Eyne, the goggles are now undergoing a small clinical trial in South Korea and already have prior supportive research in treating glaucoma.

Glaucoma: A Brief Overview

Glaucoma affects more than three million Americans and over 500,000 people in the U.K. The disease is typically caused by a blockage in the eye’s drainage network that causes fluid buildup inside the front portion, increasing internal eye (intraocular) pressure. This pressure damages the optic nerve that connects the light-sensitive cells of the retina at the back of the eye to the brain that processes the visual information.

Scientists aren’t sure why glaucoma happens, but risk factors include age, family history, and underlying conditions like diabetes and near-sightedness. Primary open-angle glaucoma is the most common form of the disease and typically affects older adults. This type of glaucoma results from a slow-forming blockage inside a drainage channel and initially impacts peripheral vision, making it difficult to detect except through routine eye testing.

A person can lose their vision if glaucoma isn’t quickly identified and treated. Common treatments are eye drops, laser treatment, or surgery to lower fluid volume or open blocked drainage channels, reducing intraocular pressure. But researchers say that glaucoma often still develops despite the effectiveness of these treatments. 

Supportive Research

Earlier research from Germany’s Friedrich-Alexander University in the journal Brain Stimulation showed encouraging results with electrical stimulation of the optic nerve.

• Seventy glaucoma patients who hadn’t responded to conventional eye drops had their eyes treated with optic nerve electrical stimulation (ONS).
• Each eye was treated with ONS electrical pulses until phosphenes (“floaters”) occurred from the stimulation of retinal cells.
• Patients had ten daily sessions of about 80 minutes each over two weeks. 

The researchers found that the ONS treatment stopped glaucoma progression in more than 60% of affected eyes treated.

In the new study at South Korea’s Konkuk University, 22 glaucoma patients will wear the goggles for 30 minutes each day over a 16-week period. During this time, patients will be monitored for any eye pressure variation and optic nerve fiber thickness.

Proving ONS Effectiveness in Humans

Consultant ophthalmologist Gwyn Williams of Singleton Hospital in the U.K. commented that reducing intraocular pressure is currently the most effective method of reducing glaucoma progression. Though there’s been research interest, no study to date has been able to demonstrate the effectiveness of ONS in humans.

“It will be interesting to see the results of this new study, but it is far too early to advise anyone about the use of these devices,” she said.

*Dobson, R. (2021, December 27). The hi-tech goggles that could beat glaucoma: Device that delivers pulses to the eye is being used in clinical trial. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-10348067/The-hi-tech-goggles-beat-glaucoma.html