ASCRS
DAILY NEWS
T U E S D AY, M AY 7, 2 019 | A S C R S A S O A A N N U A L M E E T I N G
by Liz Hillman
EyeWorld Senior Staff Writer
R
on Kurtz, MD, Aliso
Viejo, California, deliv-
ered the 2019 Charles
D. Kelman Innovator's
Lecture, taking attendees
through the process of
collaborative innovation.
Ann Kelman, wife of the late Dr.
Kelman, introduced Dr. Kurtz as a
"true entrepreneur and collabora-
tor extraordinaire."
by Liz Hillman
EyeWorld Senior Staff Writer
Kelman Innovator's Lecture emphasizes
importance of collaboration
Keeping an eye on innovation
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M
onday's Innovators
General Session
gave attendees
a look at several
advances coming
down that pike, as
well as a little bit of
history.
continued on page 4
continued on page 3
Patrick Riedel, MD, Min-
neapolis, described a new place to
shunt aqueous: the ocular surface.
The Beacon Aqueous Microshunt
(MicroOptix)—the brain child of
David Brown, MD, 20 years in
development—is 3.1 mm in length
with an external flange width
of 7 mm. It is implanted into a
paracentesis-like incision, allowing
aqueous to flow through a central
channel.
Mitigation against retrograde
flow of pathogens would be a
concern for such an idea. How-
ever, Dr. Riedel said that this is
prevented 1) by shear stress and 2)
by the polyethylene glycol material
that composes the central layer
of the three-layer device. Polyeth-
ylene glycol is considered the gold
standard of anti-biofouling materi-
als. It is super hydrophilic, and it
prevents adherence of protein and
bacteria to the channel wall, Dr.
Riedel explained.
In a porcine animal model
followed to 6 months, Dr. Riedel
noted no infections and signifi-
cant, persistent IOP lowering. An
aggressive bacterial challenge with
the device on eight animals did
not result in endophthalmitis, Dr.
Riedel continued.
Preliminary data from an early
bird study in the U.S. and E.U. has
shown a mean IOP of 13 mm Hg
at 6 months, compared to a base-
line mean of 27 mm Hg that was
medicated with no washout of
patients. Eighty-seven percent of
Dr. Kurtz takes attendees through the collaborative innovation process.
