An NHS patient has become the first person in a real-world setting to benefit from OcuClick, a new device that ensured precision dosing of a medication.
The medication, Eylea 8mg, for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) was administered by ophthalmologist and AMD expert Professor Richard Gale at the Newmedica Lincolnshire eye clinic and surgical centre.
According to Professor Gale, the new device was ‘good news for the NHS’ as it would enable more patients to be seen, without additional costs.
‘This is important,’ he said, as ‘around 40,000 people are diagnosed with wet AMD every year in the UK, and patients require regular injections.’
Traditionally, AMD treatments involved drawing medication from a glass vial and manually measuring a tiny dosage – a method which required careful visual judgment.
‘The new device, however, changes the game by pre-filling syringes with the exact amount of medication needed – 70 microlitres,’ explained professor Gale.