Week in review: Baby eyes, foolproof cannula, 3-click OCT

A weekly roundup of ophthalmic news from around the web.

This video of a baby beaming at his father after cataract surgery is sure to warm your heart. Baby Theo was diagnosed with congenital cataracts at 6 months, and received surgery at Leeds General Infirmary in England. Two weeks later, he donned his first pair of corrective lenses. "When he put the glasses on, he looked at me with a big smile and you could see him looking around," Theo’s father, Joe Bennett, told news agency SWNS. "It was amazing: We took him out that afternoon and it was apparent that he was looking at the world around him like he’d never really done before.” Inside Edition

Swiss scientists have designed a cannula that can deliver drugs into retinal veins without the risk of overpuncturing. The glass device, constructed with an ultra-fast laser 3D printer (image courtesy of EPFL), is 60 mm long, 1 mm thick and boasts extreme precision. The key, scientists say, is to prevent operator error: Humans can adjust the power of the puncturing stroke, but they can’t directly apply force. SPOT-RVC has been tested in numerical simulations and experimental measurements, researchers reported in the Journal of Medical Devices. How it will hold up in a case of retinal vein occlusion remains to be seen. EPFL 

Adverum’s gene therapy for wet AMD breezed through an initial round of clinical testing, researchers reported last week at the 2019 Retina Society meeting in London. Six patients received single intravitreal injections of ADVM-022, a virus that carries the coding sequence for aflibercept. By week 24, investigators noted sustained vision and improvements in retinal anatomy, with no need for anti-VEGF rescue injections. Adverum Biotechnologies

Three mouse clicks are all it takes to capture high-resolution images of the retina, now that the FDA has cleared Canon’s automated OCT device. The Xephilio OCT-A1 is user-friendly and delivers high-quality imagery with approximately 3-micron optical depth resolution and 70,000 scans per second. Real-time retinal tracking technology eliminates the need for manual adjustment by remembering each patient’s scan position and protocol from one exam to the next, the company noted in their press release. Canon

Ocugen received orphan drug designation for an experimental treatment for Leber congenital amaurosis. The gene therapy—OCU400—boosts levels of nuclear hormone receptor, preserving retinal function in the face of mutations that cause retinal dystrophy. No therapies currently exist for patients with mutations targeted by OCU400, the company noted. Ocugen