ABSTRACT
The neoGuard™ technology is a wireless wearable vital signs monitor attached to a patient's forehead to continuously measure oxygen saturation, pulse rate, respiratory rate and temperature. Developed with feedback from more than 400 health workers, primarily in East Africa, the product has been designed to meet the unique constraints of low-resource settings. This perspective piece by the innovators of neoGuard™ and some of their key partners examines the complicated journey of taking a medical technology from concept through clinical validation and finally to market. By shedding light on some of the most critical steps and common challenges encountered along the pathway to commercialization, the authors hope that their experiences will provide some valuable insights to other aspiring innovators in this space.
ABSTRACT
Diseases of the posterior segment of the eye are common causes of blindness and can be difficult to treat due to their location. Recently, there has been increased interest in the use of the suprachoroidal space to deliver therapeutics to the posterior segment. This space is accessible through a trans-scleral approach and blunt dissection of the adjacent scleral and choroidal tissues. However, despite recent commercial interest, there are few tools designed specifically to provide targeted delivery of therapeutics to a localised region within the suprachoroidal space. Therefore, we designed and prototyped a novel navigational catheter system for the targeted delivery of payloads within the suprachoroidal space. The system consists of a customised catheter tip designed to minimise blunt dissection stresses on neighbouring tissues, a mechanism for controlled catheter navigation, and a method for targeted delivery of large payloads. A customised in vitro model of the eye was also designed to visually demonstrate the capability of the catheter system to controllably navigate within the suprachoroidal space and deliver a targeted payload. This system can enable the delivery of large therapeutic payloads to the eye for the treatment of posterior eye diseases, thereby impacting the development and availability of vision-saving treatments.
