Interfacing a tonometer with a microcontroller to monitor diurnal intraocular pressure variations

Glaucoma is the degeneration of the optic nerve head caused by elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) and diurnal variations. It is the second leading cause of blindness. Proper treatment requires IOP to be monitored and maintained. Goldmann applanation tonometry is the clinical gold standard measured in the physician's office quarterly for those who are glaucoma suspects. It requires a local anesthetic administered to the cornea. Hence, this procedure cannot be utilized for patient home monitoring. The proposed tonometer to be used by a patient at home will use a sensor that measures force through the eye lid (transpalpebral) with a portable microcontroller device. The microcontroller will digitize data to be stored and transferred for offline analysis as well as display a single reading to an LCD display.