Project summary
Kleer-i is smart eye repair, a fundamental leap in the field, saving sight and costs in a growing healthcare market.
What is the issue?
Cataract surgery is the most common elective procedure in NSW. Current practice is to leave cataract wounds unsealed or apply sutures. But wound leak occurs in 1 in 20 cases and the risk of infection persists with devastating vision loss. Patients are also left to deliver their own postoperative therapy, yet compliance can be poor. Increased post-operative care follows a wound leak and treatment for infection from cataract surgery can cost over $8,000 per infected patient.
Furthermore, ophthalmic surgery has the longest waiting list of all specialities in NSW with a current median waiting time of 232 days.
What does the technology aim to do?
Kleer-i Pty Ltd is a start-up delivering innovative eye repair.
Kleer-i® replaces sutures. It seals wounds and delivers drugs directly to the wound site; promoting rapid healing with less infection and scarring at low cost. Trials on animals have been successful and the Kleer-i® system will be evaluated in humans.
Kleer-i® can also be used for corneal transplantation, the most common transplant procedure, and following corneal trauma, an important cause of vision loss. Hospitalised eye injuries are more common in Indigenous Australians and corneal trauma is a ‘silent epidemic’ in the developing world. In these settings, Kleer-i® will allow faster surgery, as well as reliable wound closure and delivery of post-operative therapy preventing vision loss and distortion from complications.
Kleer-i® can be applied 3 to 4 times faster than current practice with sutures, saving 60% to 70% of operating time.
Kleer- i® aim to obtain regulatory approval and launch in the market by 2017. Kleer-i Pty Ltd will target the global need for safe, easy to apply wound sealants that promote better functional tissue repair. Its easy application will alleviate the strains on public healthcare systems.
Company contact
Professor Stephanie Watson, Co-founder