The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given 510(k) clearance to the company’s SOLX 790 for use in Titanium: Sapphire laser trabeculoplasty (TLT). The clearance followed the results of a multi-center clinical trial which established the equivalence of TLT to ALT in its ability to reduce intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients suffering from primary open angle glaucoma and poorly controlled IOP. The laser emits pulses of energy at a wavelength of 790 nm that loosens particles in the trabecular meshwork. The penetration of this energy into the tissue is deeper than other currently used trabeculoplasty lasers. The treatment is long-lasting and less damaging.

Researchers have found that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure was a third lower in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma than in those who did not have the condition. The group of researchers led by John Berdahl also found in a retrospective case-control study that intraocular pressure (IOP) was similar between patients with glaucoma and those with other vision defects. The research published in the May issue of Ophthalmology suggests that the pressure difference between the intraocular space and the CSF space, the so-called translaminar pressure difference, may play a role in the pathogenesis of glaucoma.