SUMMARY:
UCLA researchers in the Stein and Doheny Eye Institutes have designed a device that can produce autologous serum eye drops at the point-of-care, greatly reducing the cost and complexity of the production process.
BACKGROUND:
Ocular surface diseases afflict hundreds of millions of people per year worldwide. Autologous serum eye drops benefit patients with various ocular surface diseases, including common conditions such as dry eye and exposure keratopathy. Such eye drops are typically prepared by isolating serum from the blood via centrifugation, followed by dilution and aliquoting under sterile conditions. While autologous serum is an effective source of therapeutic eye drops, this therapy is not widely available because serum tears are expensive to produce, mainly owing to the cumbersome and labor-intensive preparation process. Moreover, the preparation process is slow, taking sometimes up to one week or more from the time of blood draw to the application of the therapy to the eyes. There is a demand for a process that can produce serum drops using a rapid, low-cost process at the point-of-care, so that patients can obtain relief cheaply and quickly.
INNOVATION:
UCLA researchers in the Stein and Doheny Eye Institutes have developed a novel device to prepare the serum eye drops at the point-of-care. After a patient’s blood is collected onsite, red blood cells (RBCs) can be separated from the serum in a two-stage process without the use of a centrifuge or other tedious laboratory processes. The entire process can be completed in a manner of hours, as opposed to the conventional manufacturing process that can take up to a week or more. This invention could not only provide a more convenient manufacturing approach for autologous serum drops, but it can do so in a cost-effective and efficient way.
Demonstration Video: LinkedIn
POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS:
- Ocular surface disease treatment
- Eye drop therapy
- Ophthalmic devices
- Pharmaceuticals
ADVANTAGES:
- Eliminates the need for lab preparation
- Less labor-intensive
- Closed-loop, sterile system
- Decreased manufacturing cost
- Point-of-care manufacture capability
- Reduced manufacture time
- More accessible and affordable for patients
DEVELOPMENT-TO-DATE:
Invention has been conceived and fully described.