A smart disposable device for opthalmic point-of-care

The human tear film contains hundreds of proteins and lipids and these biomarkers are potentially important for the diagnosis of local and systemic disease and for predicting the success of contact lens war. Routine collection of the tear film is problematic because of the low volume of sample which is collectable (as low as 1l per eye), and the impact of factors which are inherently variable such as clinical collection method and variations in patient blinking.

A smart disposable device which is capable of fitting comfortably under the lower eyelid and which is capable to tear film collection and assessment would represent a major diagnostic and analytical advance. This work would constitute part of broader work which addresses the following milestones: tear collection and fluid delivery, a point of care test and senor data processing.