Abstract
Purpose :
Infectious keratitis is a vision-threatening problem accounting for significant visual loss in a large proportion of cases. The rise of antimicrobial resistance in recent decades has necessitated the development of alternate treatment modalities such as Corneal Collagen Cross-Linking (CXL). We aim to develop a cost-effective UV cross-linking device for the effective management of infectious keratitis.
Methods :
A microprocessor, battery and UV light source (365nm) are three important components of the device. UV light source gives a constant emission of 50 mw radiant flux. We developed an Arduino interface to monitor the intensity of UV light in real time since, corneal cross-linking needs changing intensities of UV light. The components were placed in a Housing. The housing top and base were 3D printed in Numakers flash forge (WOL 3D) printing machine as per the required measurements. A convex lens is placed in front of the UV light, which focuses the light at 5 cm.
Results :
The prototype UV corneal cross-linking device was developed which was cost-effective, portable and feasible to use in experiments. Once approved for animal studies, it may be used in clinics and emergency clinics as an adjuvant treatment to antibiotics.
Conclusions :
UV-A light has high antimicrobial efficacy against pathogens causing microbial keratitis. In the near future, we shall evaluate its efficacy in treating keratitis in clinics as a broad-spectrum modality treatment. Additional optimization and study of the prototype in the clinical environment are needed to further establish its utility and assess performance parameters.
This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.