Injectsense has received a breakthrough device program designation from the US Food and Drug Administration for its continuous IOP-monitoring system for glaucoma patients. The company’s IOP Connect system is based on a long-term implantable sensor, smaller than a grain of rice, that is delivered to the eye by injection during a 5-minute in-office procedure. IOP Connect is still in research and development and is not yet available commercially.

IOP Connect will offer continuous IOP monitoring within a digital health framework, enabling doctors to derive clinically actionable IOP data for patients between office visits. Unlike other proposed sensors, the Injectsense device minimizes patient intervention because its data collection is autonomous.

“The ophthalmology community needs a device that can be placed in the eye to monitor IOP, day and night, continuously for the lifetime of a patient. This will allow clinicians to better measure compliance and the effectiveness of every glaucoma therapy, enhancing outcomes,” said Richard Lindstrom, MD, founder and attending surgeon at Minnesota Eye Consultants, in a news release.