Medición de la PIO en el hogar y monitoreo continuo de la PIO

If you are a glaucoma patient, it is important that you and your doctor monitor your intraocular pressure (IOP).

Understanding how your pressure changes over time can help you feel more confident that your treatment is working effectively.

Why it is important to monitor  IOP

IOP  fluctuates constantly, between doctor visits and even during the day . The more frequently you measure your  IOP,  the better your doctor’s overall assessment of your eye pressure fluctuations will be. This information may be useful in measuring the effectiveness of your treatment regimen. Currently, the most common approach to obtain this information is to measure your eye pressure in the clinic at different times of the day over multiple visits. With recent advances in this field, eye pressure can now be measured outside the clinic.

“Smart” contact lenses

As eye pressure fluctuates, the curvature of the front of the eye changes and this can be measured with “smart” contact lenses. These lenses send a signal to a wireless device that records the changes and indirectly shows changes in eye pressure over time, which can correspond to the progression of glaucoma. Sensimed Triggerfish® sensor “smart” contact lenses were recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (  FDA ) in the United States for monitoring eye pressure.

Home use Tonometers

The Icare® HOME  Tonometer  has been available to European glaucoma patients since 2014, and is now available to patients in the United States. It uses a disposable probe to measure eye pressure, and can be used up to six times a day. The home-use Tonometer takes six quick IOP measurements  ,  then calculates eye pressure and stores it in the device’s memory. However, at this time, it is still unclear how well patients can use the device, or how clinicians can make use of the data it provides. Our current diagnostic techniques provide adequate information for most patients. Further study will help determine the function of this new diagnostic tool.

The future of home glaucoma monitoring

Sensors in “smart” contact lenses and at-home monitoring devices are leading the way in innovation. Researchers have also developed tiny eye implants that will allow patients to measure their eye pressure daily or hourly, which could help their doctors create more effective, tailored treatment plans. Further study will help determine when it is appropriate to use these new technologies.