High-tech glove can diagnose glaucoma at home

A sensor glove that allows people to be screened for glaucoma at home has won the James Dyson International Prize in the latest round of the innovation competition. The inventor will receive a cash prize of £30,000.

The Glaucoma Diagnostic Glove was made by Kelu Yu, who suffers from glaucoma. Her father has the same problem. Together with C Lee and David Lee from the National University of Singapore, she came up with a less invasive and more affordable way to monitor eye pressure.

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide. Medicine offers no cure. Doctors say that if diagnosed early, supportive therapy can be administered to prevent blindness. In this case, it is important to monitor the intraocular pressure. But this requires constant hospital visits.

Kelu Yu's invention for eye pressure monitoring consists of a glove with a sensor on the fingertip that must be pressed against the eyelid. The data that the sensor collects is transmitted via Bluetooth to a phone and downloaded for remote access by doctors. A companion app collects the information and offers advice.

Source: bbc

Illustration: JAMES DYSON AWARD