iLux (Alcon, via Tear Film Innovations)
Alcon debuted this device at SECO this week:
iLux
Yes, another in-office MGD treatment.
Gosh. No sooner have I finished complaining about one new device than another one appears in my newsfeed.
Mind, it’s not actually new, but it’s newly announced by Alcon (acquired from Tear Film Innovations). Looks like they actually got their FDA clearance back at the end of 2016.
Maybe a few years ago I could have persuaded myself to get more excited. And maybe I’m really not being fair. Eye doctors deserve to have their toys too, after all, and maybe what makes their lives easier will make my life easier too. And hey… it’s bound to be MUCH cheaper than Lipiflow, the high cost of which truly is God’s gift to all the new device innovators, because almost anything looks more attractive to patients by comparison.
It’s just that if meibomian gland disease is going to turn into optometry’s Silicon Valley, it would be nice if it were just a little more in step with PATIENTS' needs.
But I digress.
What is this device? Well, it’s about as self-explanatory as they make ‘em. But just in case you struggle with the obvious:
See Em Gee.
Behold, a magnifier over an eyelid.
See Em Gee warm up.
Behold, heat on an eyelid.
Squeeze Em Gee.
Behold, you can push on it.
See Em Gee run.
Behold, meibum. It might be running or walking or oozing or whatever. But hey, you can see it, without a slit lamp.
That’s. So. Cool.
Moi? Jaded?
Say it isn’t so.