Problem
Drug delivery to the eye is currently achieved by drops or less commonly, using an aerosol plume to administer the desired therapeutic. These delivery methods suffer from inaccuracies and insufficient dosage to the targeted area.
Solution
Dr. Smyth and his team have developed a method to deliver drugs to the eye using a tunable pulsed aerosol method. Dr. Smyth’s device delivers therapeutic agents in a small volume, and allows fine tuning of the aerosol plume, aerosol characteristics and formulation. The device thus allows optimization of delivery based on the molecule being delivered. The ophthalmic toroidal plume delivery method is more comfortable than current ocular delivery methods, enabling improved patient acceptance and compliance.
About the inventor
Dr. Smyth is the Alcon Centennial Professor for the College of Pharmacy at The University of Texas at Austin and an Adjunct Associate Scientist at the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Dr. Smyth has published over 150 peer-reviewed publications, is an editor of three books, and has obtained more than 20 patents or patent applications. The focus of his work has broad applicability in the medical sector, including research and development focused on novel drug delivery devices for respiratory, nasal, ophthalmic, transdermal, and topical systems.
References
doi: 10.1007/s13346-018-0553-1
doi: 10.1007/s11095-017-2236-x
https://patents.google.com/patent/US9119773B2/
