Mirabile dictu! Researchers at Washington State University created a prototype that could reduce the cost of treating the two leading causes of blindness in America, diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The prototype is called a microneedle array; apt considering the device consists of a cluster of hundreds of tiny needles. The technology is essentially a patch for the eye which could make delivering drugs to the eye more effectively than the three current techniques: laser therapy, direct eye injections, and eye drops.

“If the concept is proven it will help a lot of people in so many areas,” says doctorate student Maher Amer. “It doesn’t have to only be the eye.”

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“Finding an efficient way to treat blindness”