What is Glaucoma?

What is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases causing optic nerve damage. The optic nerve carries images from the retina, which is the specialized light sensing tissue, to the brain so we can see. In glaucoma, eye pressure plays a role in damaging the delicate nerve fibers of the optic nerve. When a significant number of nerve fibers are damaged, blind spots develop in the field of vision. Once nerve damage and visual loss occur, it is permanent. Most people don't notice these blind areas until much of the optic nerve damage has already occurred. If the entire nerve is destroyed, blindness results. Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in the world, especially in older people. Early detection and treatment by your ophthalmologist are the keys to preventing optic nerve damage and vision loss from glaucoma.

What Causes Glaucoma?

The exact causes of optic nerve damage from glaucoma is not fully understood, but involves mechanical compression and/or decreased blood flow of the optic nerve. Although high eye pressure sometimes leads to glaucoma, many people can also develop glaucoma with "normal" eye pressure.

What Are The Different Types Of Glaucoma?

Open-angle glaucoma

Chronic open-angle glaucoma is the most common form of glaucoma. The "open" drainage angle of the eye can become blocked leading to gradual increased eye pressure. If this increased pressure results in optic nerve damage, it is known as chronic open-angle glaucoma. The optic nerve damage and vision loss usually occurs so gradually and painlessly that you are not aware of trouble until the optic nerve is already badly damaged.

Angle-closure glaucoma

Angle-closure glaucoma results when the drainage angle of the eye narrows and becomes completely blocked. In the eye, the iris may close off the drainage angle and cause a dangerously high eye pressure. When the drainage angle of the eye suddenly becomes completely blocked, pressure builds up rapidly, and this is called acute angle-closure glaucoma. The symptoms include severe eye pain, blurred vision, headache, rainbow haloes around lights, nausea and vomiting. Unless an ophthalmologist treats acute angle-closure glaucoma quickly, blindness can result. When the drainage angle of the eye gradually becomes completely blocked, pressure builds up gradually, and this is called chronic angle-closure glaucoma. This form of glaucoma occurs more frequently in people of African and Asian ancestry, and in certain eye conditions

Sensimed's Triggerfish Lens A circular strain gauge in the contact lens detects changes in the diameter of the eye. The tiny microelectromechanical systems chip then reads the data and transmits the information wirelessly to an external receiver worn around the patient's neck. Sensimed

Glaucoma is a tricky ailment to manage; rather than being a single disease, it's actually a cluster of diseases with various manifestations that, taken as a whole, are the second leading cause of blindness. But medical microtechnology firm Sensimed has engineered a sensor-laden contact lens that glaucoma sufferers can wear around-the-clock, helping doctors not only manage the potentially debilitating disease, but also learn more about how the mysterious condition works.
Little is really understood about glaucoma's mechanisms, mostly because they are constantly changing. For instance, one manageable symptom that seems to be linked to the disease's progression is high intraocular pressure, or pressure caused by too much liquid inside the eye. But intraocular pressure changes throughout the day, usually peaking at night when patients are not under doctor's observation. Snapshots of the condition taken during routine doctor visits provide little insight into how the symptoms and diseases are evolving.

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