Inconsistent or ineffective age-related macular degeneration (AMD) treatments might be solved by an easy solution, according to new research from the California Institute of Technology.
Research presented at the American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics’s 72nd Annual Meeting has suggested that the inefficient mixing of anti-VEGF treatments could be the cause of ineffective treatments or unwanted side effects.
Ms Jinglin Huang, a graduate student in medical engineering, has suggested a thermally induced fluid mixing approach will allow the medication to more effectively mix with the vitreous body in the eye.
“Because thermally induced mixing in the vitreous chamber can promote the formation of a circulation flow structure, this can potentially serve the drug delivery process,” Huang said.
“Since the half-life of the drug is limited, this thermally induced mixing approach ensures that more drug of high potency can reach the target tissue.”
The application of heat after the injection is the only additional step necessary to include the technique in a procedure.
“It can potentially reduce the amount of drug injected into the vitreous. It is definitely easy to be implemented,” Huang said.