In vitro experiment of the pressure regulating valve for a glaucoma implant

Abstract

Glaucoma is an eye disease which is caused by abnormal high intraocular pressure (IOP) in the eye. If the condition of the patient becomes serious, the use of an implant device is recommended, which decreases the IOP compulsory. Active implants for glaucoma implants are capable of controlling the IOP actively and coping with the personal differences of patients. However, the conventional active valves for the glaucoma implant are not convenient for the patient and feasibility is not shown for the glaucoma treatment. In this paper, we propose, analyze, fabricate and experiment on the pressure regulating valve for the active implant. Based on the analysis, we carry out optimal design of the proposed valve. The in vitro experiments are performed extensively both using and not using a rabbit in open- and closed-loop pressure control. The various experimental results verify the possibility of the proposed valve for a glaucoma implant.