Caroline Tupcienko would rather have a needle in her eye than tilt her head back for drops several times a day to prevent the blinding effects of glaucoma.
The 73-year-old received an experimental ocular implant in July, the first of its kind that dispenses a constant daily dose of medicine as it dissolves over six months. The rod-shaped device—made by Melbourne-based PolyActiva Pty Ltd. and inserted via a fine needle through the cornea into the front of the eye—represents the vanguard of therapies promising to improve treatment for glaucoma, the most common cause of irreversible blindness.
