If people with glaucoma don’t stay on top of their condition, blindness may result. An experimental new contact lens is designed to help, by both monitoring glaucoma symptoms and automatically releasing medication as needed.

Glaucoma typically occurs when a blockage in the eye’s drainage channels causes aqueous humor fluid to accumulate within the eye faster than it can drain out. This increases intraocular pressure (IOP) which may in turn damage the optic nerve, causing blindness.