UK health technology company PolyPhotonix has unveiled its latest treatment for diabetic retinopathy that causes blindness among working-age adults.
The new Noctura400 sleep mask launched in the country by PolyPhotonix will be able to treat diabetic retinopathy patients at their early stages of the condition.
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As a human eye adapts to the dark whilst sleeping at night, it needs more of an additional supply of oxygen compared to during the day.
Diabetes-affected patients who have circulation problems cannot meet this need for extra oxygen, as a result of which their retina suffers from the effects of a severe lack of oxygen. This causes diabetic retinopathy in the diabetes patients.
The body’s response is to grow new blood vessels, though in the case of the affected individuals these new vessels are weak, prone to bleeding and leakage of fluid in the eye, which leads to visual decline, even causing complete blindness.
The Noctura400 sleep mask emits a low-level light through closed eyelids, which reduces the eyes’ need for oxygen without disturbing the sleep of the person.
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By GlobalDataA proper and continuous supply of oxygen to the eyes reduces the chances of blindness in the diabetic retinopathy patient.
University of Liverpool Ophthalmology professor Ian Grierson Emeritus said: “What makes it potentially a huge breakthrough is that this gives us something for those in the earliest stages of disease that is capable of halting progression, and the need for late-stage invasive treatment.”
If worn every night, the new sleep mask lasts for 12 weeks and costs less than £3 each day.
Each Noctura 400 mask is particularly calibrated with the technology inside gathering usage data, which is assessed during regular check-ups.
Image: The Noctura400 sleep mask emits a low-level light through closed eyelids and reduces the eyes’ need for oxygen. Photo: courtesy of PolyPhotonix / Dean Forbes.
