New Delhi: When eye injury strikes, the time needed to rush patients to proper care becomes crucial.

Now, researchers say there may be a quick way to seal severe eye injuries until they can be treated by doctors.

A new type of temperature-sensitive gel, which can protect a wounded eyeball and then later be removed with cold water, could be vital in saving the vision of people who get injured a long way from the nearest medical facilities; says scientists.

The liquid has been developed with soldiers in mind – because when a soldier sustains a traumatic eye injury on the battlefield, it's a race against time to get them treated before eye damage becomes permanent.

A researcher said, “If you look at historical data over the last several decades, the rate of war-related ocular [eye] injuries has steadily increased from a fraction of a percent to as high as 10 to 15 percent.”

Therefore, the multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers at USC are close to solving the problem with this temperature-sensitive temporary sealthat change from a fluid to a semi-solid when applied to the eye as the patient awaits surgery.

The material the group was working with for retinal implants was a hydrogel called PNIPAM, poly (N-isopropylacrylamide), which had a unique attribute that made it a natural fit for this application: When cooled, the hydrogel became a liquid for easy application, and when heated, it became a viscous semi-solid with strong adhesion. All that was needed was some tailoring.

According to the team from the University of Southern California, the new substance is easy to apply, and will reduce overall treatment times as well as keeping the eye preserved while patients are in transit, whether from the front line or rural areas.

“First responders at a mass casualty incident could deploy the hydro-gel while patients wait for their injuries to be completely repaired by an ocular surgeon in appropriate microsurgical facilities,” said lead researcher, Mark Humayun.

To establish the material’s efficacy, a rabbit model was used so far. Results showed that when applied to eyes with penetrating injuries, the hydro-gel improved pressure within the eye, which may be critical for preventing retinal detachment that can ultimately lead to vision loss. There also was no evidence of inflammation or infection for up to four weeks of use,according to a Science Translational Medicine journal study.

The researchers hope to initiate clinical safety testing in humans in 2019.

A treatment like this could make a difference to a significant number of people who need help fast."Providing a perfect, yet reversible seal, the smart hydro-gel shows promise for the next generation of tissue adhesives."

However, eyeballs aren’t the only place the gel could be used.The portable hydro-gel may even have potential for temporarily treating gunshot wounds.“It may even have potential for temporarily treating gunshot wounds,” said researchers.

The Results of this study were published on Dec. 6 in Science Translational Medicine.

References:
https://www.sciencealert.com
https://www.rt.com
https://www.upi.com
https://news.usc.edu