She developed contact lenses for glaucoma patients
Achievements

She developed contact lenses for glaucoma patients

Myrto Korogiannaki is the chemical engineer who developed a contact lens-based drug delivery system for glaucoma patients.

Korogiannaki has used hyaluronic acid to help get drugs to the eye from a lens in a controlled way.

Patients with front-of-the-eye diseases, such as glaucoma, traditionally use medicated eye drops twice a day to treat their ailment. But those drops are incredibly inefficient as only about 5% of the drug they carry actually makes it to the cornea.

“The rest ends up in the skin around the eye or in the bloodstream. And that can mean undesired side-effects,” Korogiannaki said.

Contacts, however, are placed directly against the eye, keeping the drugs in contact with the cornea for a much longer period of time.

The lenses can also deliver drugs over the course of many days, meaning patients do not have to worry about applying drops multiple times each day.

“It’s a much more targeted release of medication,” the scientist added.

Korogiannaki is one of a number of researchers in chemical engineer Heather Sheardown’s lab looking at more effective ways of delivering drugs to both the front and back of the eye.

In 2012, her team developed a microneedle system that could painlessly deliver medication to the back of the eye, sparing patients the excruciating routine of having drugs injected into their eyes by syringe every six to eight weeks.

In 2015, Sheardown was named Canada Research Chair in Ophthalmic Biomaterials and Drug Delivery Systems and works to develop biomaterials for contact or implanted lenses and new formulas for topical drops.

Myrto Korogiannaki studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Patras (2005-2010), in Greece.  She took her master at the same field and her Ph.D at Chemical Engineering, Ophthalmic Biomaterials from McMaster University (2012-2016).

COMMENTS

  Comments: 3

  1. Ecatherina Edwards

    Κάθε ευχή για αυτό το τόσο σημαντικό επίτευμα, ευλογία να σας συνοδεύει.


  2. Νανά Τσουμαχιδου

    Μυρτώ μου συγχαρητήρια για την επιστημονική σου έρευνα τόσων χρονων οπου το αποτέλεσμα του επιτεύγματος σε αποζημίωσε πλήρως. Επίσης την επιμονή και την προσήλωση στο στόχο σου και τα12 ώρα δουλειάς σου σε περίοδο διακοπών. Συγχαρητήρια επίσης στους γονείς σου για την στήριξη τους. Εύχομαι στο μέλλον να εχεις διακρισεις και για άλλα ανάλογα επιτεύγματα


  3. βασιλησ

    είμαι 64 ετων μενω αθηνα τα κολλύρια δεν φαινεται να κανουν δουλεια ανησυχω μπορειε να βοηθήσετε?


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