Contact Lenses Could Deliver Medications

Roland Piquepaille writes "This UPI Science News article says that eye diseases like glaucoma could one day be treated by pharmaceuticals delivered through contact lenses. "Patients might be able to one day receive prescription medications through tiny particles embedded in soft contact lenses, researchers said Sunday. They said they have developed a method to encapsulate a medication in nanoparticles, particles so tiny they are microscopic and cannot be felt or seen by the eye." However, the lenses are in the very early engineering design stages and have not been tested clinically. Check this column for more details."

Comments

Re:Well...

[Simon Field]

I could see anti-alergy medications being delivered this way, or other medications that need to be delivered into the nasal cavity via the channels that drain tears into the nose.

People currently smear petrolatum-based ointments under the eyelid to cure conjuctivitis. For people who are already comfortable with contacts, this may be preferable.

It might also be a way to get to the brain, along the optic nerve or other paths, bypassing the blood-brain barrier.

For people who live in smoggy areas, how about lenses that counteract ozone and nitrogen oxides by dispensing a buffering solution? Or is that as bad as politicians who suggest solving the problem of ozone holes by issuing everybody hats?