Suprachoroidal shunts for treatment of glaucoma

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare the fluid dynamic performance of two Aqueous Humor (AH) ocular drainage devices, the SOLX® Gold Micro Shunt (GMS) and the novel Silicon Shunt Device (SSD), implanted by surgeons in human eyes to reduce the IntraOcular Pressure (IOP) towards physiological values, by draining the AH from the Anterior Chamber (AC) to the Suprachoroidal Space (SCS), in order to cure eyes with glaucoma. Design/methodology/approach The generalised porous medium model is solved to simulate the AH flow through the two ocular drainage devices and the surrounding porous tissues of the eye. Findings In the GMS, probable stagnation regions have been found, due to very small AH velocity values inside the device and to the surrounding tissues, creating possible blockage and malfunction of the device. The simple microtubular geometry of the novel SSD allows to have a regular AH flow and to choose shunts with different diameters and/or with the presence of radial holes, based on patient nee...