According to statistics, war-related eye injuries have steadily increased from a fraction of a percent to as high as 10 to 15 percent in the past few decades. Many of these injuries lead to permanent vision loss due to a lack of nearby medical facilities or the proper tools to treat them.
Researchers at the University of Southern California have developed an advanced material that medics can rapidly deploy and that is customized for numerous types of ocular trauma. Like superglue for the eyes. Originally developed as an adhesive for USC’s famed retinal implants, the glue, a hydrogel called PNIPAM, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) has unique chemical properties: when cooled, it becomes a liquid for easy application, and when heated, it becomes semi-solid with strong adhesive properties. After some modifications, the researchers found that the hydrogel could form a solid seal after being injected into the eye and reaching the eye’s temperature. The process is fully reversible by simply applying cool water, which reverts the hydrogel back into a liquid state for removal. A study on rabbit eyes showed that the hydrogel successfully improved intraocular pressures without inflammation or infection over four weeks.
Additionally, the researchers developed a special portable syringe for the hydrogel. The syringe has a cooling chamber filled with calcium ammonium nitrate crystals (the ones you find in instant cold packs). When the chamber is filled with water, the temperature of the syringe drops in less than 30 seconds so the hydrogel becomes liquid and can be injected.
The hope is that the special hydrogel/cooling syringe combo will be used on the battlefields as well as rural ER’s and mass casualty situations. Medics and first-responders can quickly deploy the hydrogel to stabilize the patient until an ophthalmologist can repair the damage.
Journal abstract in Science Translational Medicine: A reversible thermoresponsive sealant for temporary closure of ocular trauma…
More info from USC: A new portable gel that could save an injured eye…