Organ on a chip - a lab the size of a matchbox for new glaucoma treatment
Lead researcher, Dr Darryl Overby from Imperial College London:
“We’re excited to fund the development of a bioengineered ‘organ on a chip’ which can recreate a whole lab on a device the size of a matchbox – this opens the door to testing aspects of glaucoma and other eye disease that have previously been difficult to investigate and could offer solutions for this leading cause of sight loss. This will ultimately allow us to develop better drugs that more effectively lower eye pressure and prevent blindness in glaucoma.”
Dr Darryl Overby from Imperial College London
What is the aim of this project?
Fight for Sight is funding the development of an ‘organ-on-chip’ that for the first time will be used to help investigate glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness.
Researchers will use the device to better understand how eye pressure is controlled and will design drugs to target the pressure-controlling mechanisms in the eye. Using the new device researchers will be able to manipulate specific cells and examine the effects on flow of fluid from the eye. The ultimate aim is to improve our understanding of fluid flow to lower the increased eye pressure that people experience in glaucoma, which results in damage to the optic nerve and sight loss.
Researchers will use the device to better understand how eye pressure is controlled and will design drugs to target the pressure-controlling mechanisms in the eye. Using the new device researchers will be able to manipulate specific cells and examine the effects on flow of fluid from the eye. The ultimate aim is to improve our understanding of fluid flow to lower the increased eye pressure that people experience in glaucoma, which results in damage to the optic nerve and sight loss.
Why is this research needed?
Glaucoma is the name for a group of eye conditions that causes sight loss because of damage to the optic nerve (the nerve that connects the eyes to the brain).
Glaucoma is associated with increased pressure in the eye, resulting from a failure in the eye fluid draining away. However, it is not fully understood how this process is controlled which means current drugs are unable to precisely target the causes.
This technology has the potential to be applied to research on a wide range of other eye conditions such as retinal degeneration, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.
Glaucoma is associated with increased pressure in the eye, resulting from a failure in the eye fluid draining away. However, it is not fully understood how this process is controlled which means current drugs are unable to precisely target the causes.
This technology has the potential to be applied to research on a wide range of other eye conditions such as retinal degeneration, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.
What method will researchers use?
Dr Darryl Overby and Dr Sam Au from Imperial College London, in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Duke University, are building upon the latest bioengineering technology to develop a new device that mimics the flow of fluid (or ‘aqueous humour’) as it drains from the eye.
The matchbox sized ‘organ on a chip’ is made from a special gel that contains channels the width of a match that are surrounded by human eye cells. Essentially, an entire laboratory can fit on the device, running several experiments in parallel on the same chip.
The matchbox sized ‘organ on a chip’ is made from a special gel that contains channels the width of a match that are surrounded by human eye cells. Essentially, an entire laboratory can fit on the device, running several experiments in parallel on the same chip.
What will this mean for people with glaucoma and optic nerve damage?
This will ultimately allow us to develop better drugs that more effectively lower eye pressure and prevent blindness in glaucoma.
The £100,000 awarded by the charity, Fight for Sight will support the three year project.
Find out more about glaucoma
Donate
Return to main research page
Find out more about glaucoma
Donate
Return to main research page