Ophthalmic Drug Delivery System

Challenge: Create an ophthalmic drug delivery device that allows patients to self-administer eye drops while keeping the head upright.

Approach: Many patients, especially elderly patients, have a hard time administering eye drops correctly for a number of reasons. This patient population often has limited hand dexterity and limited head tilt. In collaboration with a major NC University eye research center, we sought to solve this problem. This led to the creation of the upright eye dropper dispenser. A bottle container is placed upside down into the device and a mechanism pierces the bottle, pulling medication into a small chamber. A closed system with hydrophobic filtration prevents any bacteria from entering. Pulling the trigger releases pressure, squirting out a stream of medication into the eye. The device measures proper dosage, with one pre-measured dose being released per “click” and reduces the chance of tip contamination.

Outcome: An upright eye dropper dispenser that has the ability to assist patients with eye drop placement, improving the experience with drop instillation and increasing compliance.