STTR Phase I: Non-Invasive Through-The-Eyelid Tonometer for Frequent Eye Pressure Measurements

这个小型企业技术转让(STTR)第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是更好地筛查和管理青光眼的能力。40岁以上的美国人需要对眼压升高进行筛查，这可能会导致青光眼和失明。这个STTR项目旨在开发一种非侵入性的低成本仪器，可以通过眼盖频繁地测量眼压。大约有400万美国人患有眼压升高，需要定期监测，根据这项拨款开发的技术将改善公众健康，降低眼压测量成本，并将带来每年超过10亿美元的市场机会。鉴于对方便的眼压测量系统的普遍需求，欧洲以及亚洲和拉丁美洲的发达国家也存在类似的市场机会。拟议的项目将开发一种针对患者的校准方法。眼睑触觉眼压测量是一种间接的压力测量技术。虽然通用校准仍然可以产生相对压力测量，但患者专用校准将把精度提高到与现有仪器(如Goldman Planation眼压计)相当的水平。这项拟议的研究将检验单次测量产生准确的针对患者的校准的能力。该方法利用由人眼有限元模型训练先验的人工神经网络来获取易于测量的模型参数。预计该技术的精度可以达到+/-5毫米汞柱或更好的高盛压平眼压计。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will be in the ability to better screen for and manage glaucoma. Americans over the age of 40 need to be screened for elevated eye pressure which may lead to glaucoma and blindness. This STTR project aims to develop a non-invasive low-cost instrument that will allow frequent eye pressure measurements through the eye lid. Approximately 4 million Americans suffer from elevated eye pressure and require regular monitoring, the technology developed under this grant will improve public health, reduce cost of eye pressure measurements and will lead to an annual market opportunity in excess of 1B US dollars. Given the universal need for convenient eye pressure measurement systems a similar market opportunity exists in Europe and the developed countries of Asia and Latin America. The proposed project will develop a patient-specific calibration method. Through-the-eye lid tactile tonometry is an indirect pressure measurement technique. While universal calibration may still produce relative pressure measurements, a patient specific calibration will improve the accuracy to a level comparable with existing instruments such as Goldman applanation tonometers. The proposed research will examine the ability of a single measurement to produce an accurate patient-specific calibration. The proposed approach utilizes an artificial neural network trained a-priory by a finite element model of the human eye capturing easy-to-measure model parameters. It is anticipated that the accuracy of the technique can reach +/- 5 mmHg or better with respect to Goldman applanation tonometry.