Novel Light Activated Hydrogel for Ocular Surface Disease Treatment

A novel biomaterial developed in The University of Hong Kong’s Department of Ophthalmology and at the Advanced Biomedical Instrumentation Centre Limited, an InnoHK Centre under the HKSAR government’s innovation and technology initiative. This material produces heat and reactive oxygen species at a controlled rate when exposed to near-infrared light at a specific wavelength and intensity. By using this unique biomaterial, we have developed several products which can be classified into a wellness product and ocular surface disease treatments modalities. **Wellness Product:** An eyepatch for the treatment and prevention of meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). MGD remains one of the most prevalent ocular diseases worldwide with approximately 33% of the global population suffering from it. It is also the root cause of many other diseases such as dry eye disease, styes, and blepharitis.  Our product takes the form of a comfortable eye patch that releases heat at a clinically validated temperature upon exposure to light from the activation glasses. This allows it to tackle the root cause of MGD and offer a comprehensive solution to this disease with minimal disturbances to the users’ everyday life as their eyes can remain open throughout. This product will be positioned as a wellness product to achieve a shorter time to market and to target the larger retail market.  **Disease treatment:** Contact lenses for the treatment of microbial keratitis (MK).  MK, often referred to as an infectious corneal ulcer, is a serious infection of the cornea caused by microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, acanthamoeba, parasites and viruses. It causes extreme pain and is a serious disease that can cause loss of vision and even blindness within 24 - 48 hours, making early intervention and rapid treatment modalities vital. MK cases often exceed 2 million per year and are extremely prevalent in developing countries and agricultural regions such as in South, South-East, and East Asia.  Our contact lens serves as a rapid first-line treatment modality which greatly reduces the treatment duration from 7 - 14 days to just 2 - 5 days. Its ability to kill different microorganisms without harming healthy cells makes it an effective broad spectrum treatment method. Animal trials have shown that our treatment method is extremely safe, efficient and effective with significant improvements in their conditions after treatment. We are currently also exploring the use of our material as a hydrogel bandage for the treatment of pterygium and conjunctival melanoma, an extremely aggressive type of eye cancer.