A pioneering treatment developed in County Durham to prevent blindness in people suffering from diabetic retinopathy is set to benefit NHS patients for the first time.
PolyPhotonix’s Noctura 400 sleep mask is to be used by Ashford and St Peter’s NHS Foundation Trust in Surrey.
Shown to improve patients’ visual acuity, the mask could potentially save the health service millions of pounds a year.
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The mask was developed by MedTech company PolyPhotonix based at NETPark in Sedgefield.
It has demonstrated improvement and stabilisation of diabetic eye disease in 96% of patients. It is an early stage non-invasive alternative to current treatments such as eye injections for patients with the condition; which is a leading cause of blindness in Europe.
Based on research undertaken by the Trust, improving patient outcomes with an earlier stage intervention could save the NHS £3,000 per patient. It is believed that the sleep mask could deliver cost savings estimated in excess of £180m per year if adopted across the NHS.
It could also ease pressure on NHS services by reducing hospital clinic appointments and the use of eye injection treatments at a later stage. Diabetes is a major health crisis facing the UK and costs the NHS around £10bn a year.
The current NHS pathway involves monitoring patients with early signs of diabetic retinopathy until their eyes deteriorate and they qualify for treatment intervention.
Richard Kirk, Chief Executive of PolyPhotonix, said: “For the NHS, treating diabetic retinopathy patients with the Noctura 400 sleep mask represents a cost-effective alternative to existing treatments. At a time when our healthcare budgets are already stretched, adding the sleep mask to existing care pathways makes sound financial sense in helping healthcare services recover from the pandemic and freeing up hospital appointments for those in greater need of emergency care.
"Most importantly, it prevents problems before they arise and enables doctors to improve patient care.”
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