London: An international team of scientists from India and the UK has developed a pioneering “Smart contact lenses” to test for Eye infections A quick, non-invasive way, according to a British university involved in the project.
The University of Sheffield and India’s University of Bradford and LV Prasad Eye Institute hope the test will eventually be available for use at home and has been hailed as the next big leap in the global fight against preventable blindness. It is also expected to prevent deaths from fungal eye infections in developing countries.
“An eye infection – microbial keratitis – is a leading cause of vision loss and blindness worldwide, and even more so in India,” Dr. Prashant Garg, Executive Chair, LV Prasad Eye Institute said.
“Timely and correct diagnosis can facilitate timely initiation of treatment with appropriate drugs and thus limit vision loss from these disorders. Currently practiced diagnostic methods are invasive, time consuming and expensive. The ‘smart contact lens“The technology could be the next big leap in treating eye infections and our collective goal of eliminating avoidable blindness,” he said.
Currently, detecting which bacteria or fungi are present in an eye infection is an invasive procedure that involves scraping the patient’s eye under anesthetic. The sample is cultured for two days before being studied under the microscope. The new test will involve the patient wearing special lenses for an hour, with the results determined immediately afterwards. It is hoped that the test may eventually become available to the general public in the UK and internationally.
“This is an important work that could save the sight of many people around the world by quickly and accurately diagnosing infections in a more comfortable way than is currently used,” said Dr. said Joy Shepherd, senior lecturer at the University of Sheffield’s School of Microbiology. Clinical Dentistry.
“It will also reduce the misprescribing of antibiotics, which means we will help in the fight to reduce resistance to antibiotics that develops in microbes when these drugs are used without properly identifying the cause,” he said.
Initial tests in the laboratory have yielded positive results and human trials will be conducted after further funding is secured. This test may be important in developing, tropical countries, where infections are often detected too late to save a person’s eye.
Stephen Rimmer, professor of chemistry at the University of Bradford, said: “We have produced a smart hydrogel that can detect two types of bacteria and fungi. The device is made from materials similar to those used to make contact lenses, which will be applied safely to the eye. Microorganisms stick to the material and can then be analyzed.
“The current system is not a good process and it takes time. We are working on how we can produce a visible color change on the lens to show which bacteria or fungi are present. These can then be photographed with a mobile phone and uploaded to a website for an expert to analyze. The specialist can then decide if the patient needs antibiotics or if they need further investigation. Our goal is that someone on the street can do it without any training.
A World Health Organization (WHO) report last month said invasive fungal diseases are on the rise globally, particularly among people with underlying health problems or weakened immune systems, yet little research has been done on them. It also reported a link between the Covid-19 pandemic and increased fungal infections: aspergillosis, mucormycosis and candidemia, as well as evidence that the incidence and geographic range of fungal infections is expanding globally due to climate change.
In India, deaths from mucormycosis or “black fungus” have increased. At particular risk are diabetics and those treated with steroids for Covid-19, with research showing around a 50 per cent death rate in those patients. Doctors believe that steroids suppress the patient’s immune system and drive up the blood sugar levels, which causes the fungus to develop.
The project has received funding from various funding agencies including UKRI (EPSRC, BBSRC, MRC), Ministry of Defence, Innovate UK, Grow MedTech and Smith & Nephew.
