Therapeutic Ultrasound-Enhanced Transcorneal Drug Delivery for Fungal Keratitis Treatment

The aim of this study is to determine if ultrasound can be applied to increase transcorneal drug delivery of natamycin in cases of fungal keratitis without dangerously overheating surrounding ocular tissues. Increases in transcorneal drug delivery were seen in every treatment parameter combination when compared to sham. The highest increase was 4.0 times for 5 minutes of pulsed ultrasound at a 25% duty cycle and frequency of 400 kHz and an intensity of 0.5 W/cm
²
with statistical significance (p < 0.001). Histological analysis revealed structural damage only in the corneal epithelium, with most damage being at the epithelial surface. This study suggests that ultrasound is a safe, effective and minimally invasive treatment method for enhancing transcorneal drug delivery of natamycin. Further research is needed into the long-term effects of ultrasound parameters used in this study on human ocular tissues