Fifteen medical centers nationwide are starting to perform glaucoma treatment surgeries with the iDose TR® implant, after the FDA approved it for commercial use in December 2023. Learn more about the iDose TR, and what it could mean for you if you have open-angle glaucoma.*

About iDose TR

The iDose TR® delivers a specialized formulation of the medication travoprost, a prostaglandin analog, from inside the front chamber of the eye. The travoprost is released continuously, 24/7, for prolonged periods of time.  

According to Jay Katz, CMO for Glaukos, the manufacturer of iDose, the micro-invasive surgery consists of placing the tiny titanium device into the eye through a small incision in the cornea. The therapeutic goal is to prevent further optic nerve damage and vision loss by lowering internal eye pressure to a safe level and then maintaining that lower level over time.

Clinical trial follow-ups showed that the device was still effective five years after the procedure was performed on study participants. 

What iDose could mean for you

The primary benefits of iDose TR®, says Katz, are:

• Eliminating the necessity for patients to remember to apply their eye drops–sometimes multiple times–on a daily basis,  
• Regulating the amount of medication that is administered with each dose, and
• Preventing the adverse side effects of externally-applied drops.

“Now that we have iDose, we’re going to be able to modify how we manage patients,” said Dr. Mark J. Gallardo of El Paso Eye Surgeons Clinic, one of the medical centers that now offers the procedure. 

“Instead of having a patient put in an eye drop every single day that causes red eye, darkening of the eyelids, fat atrophy around the eyes, we’re now able to implant this medication so patients won’t be subject to all the caustic effects of the eye drop itself.”

He adds that another benefit of the iDose is that it doesn’t lead to dry eye. Many glaucoma patients already suffer from dry eye, and medicated drops often aggravate the condition, leading to ocular surface pain.

Who is eligible for iDose TR

For the time being, Gallardo says, the implant can only be used to treat people specifically with open-angle glaucoma, and the procedure is only covered by traditional Medicare

*KTSM 9 News. (2024, April 13). El Paso eye clinic at forefront of new glaucoma treatment [Video File]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qypl0jrus5U 

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