A groundbreaking study led by King’s College London and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has employed a custom-designed robot to enhance the treatment of severe eye conditions. The robot was used in the treatment of wet neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a distressing eye condition that can lead to significant vision loss.
The innovative robotic system delivered a one-time, minimally invasive dose of radiation to patients suffering from wet AMD. This was followed by the patients’ usual treatment involving injections into the eye. The study, which was published in The Lancet, demonstrated that this approach reduced the number of necessary injections for effective disease control, potentially eliminating up to 1.8 million injections globally each year.
Wet AMD is a severe eye condition where abnormal blood vessels grow into the macula, the layer of cells inside the back of the eyeball responsible for light sensing. The growth of these vessels can lead to leakage of blood and fluid, often resulting in rapid, permanent, and severe vision loss. Around 196 million people globally suffer from AMD, including over 700,000 individuals in the UK. As the population ages, the number of AMD cases is predicted to increase by 60% by 2035.
Current treatment for wet AMD involves regular injections into the eye. Although initial treatment can markedly improve a patient’s vision, the injections do not cure the disease. Over time, fluid can build up again in the macula, necessitating long-term, repeated injections. These injections, costing between £500 and £800 each, have become one of the most common NHS procedures.
The new robotic treatment offers a significant improvement over existing methods, utilising three beams of highly concentrated radiation aimed at the affected eye. The study showed that patients who received robotic radiotherapy required fewer injections to manage their disease compared to those who received standard treatment.
The research also revealed that the use of a robotically controlled device saved the NHS £565 per patient treated over the first two years due to fewer injections being needed.
Professor Timothy Jackson, the study lead and first author on the paper, described the new robotic system as incredibly precise, capable of treating a small lesion in the back of the eye with overlapping beams of radiation. “This discovery could reduce the burden of treatment that patients have to endure,” said Professor Jackson.
Dr Helen Dakin, University Research Lecturer at the University of Oxford, commented that the cost savings from fewer injections outweighed the cost of robot-controlled radiotherapy. This new treatment approach can save the NHS money while controlling patients’ AMD just as effectively as standard care.
This pivotal study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) and involved 411 participants across 30 NHS hospitals.
Comments are closed for this post.