| Rapid Identification of Ocular Fungal and Amoebic Pathogens |
| Fungal infection of the eye, or ocular mycosis, is a serious condition that may result in loss of vision if the disease is not diagnosed and treated in time. Despite an increase in the incidence of the disease over the last decades, management remains a clinical challenge due to misdiagnosis and inadequate detection methods, which are often slow. |
| Mycotic keratitis is considered a leading cause of ocular morbidity throughout the world. This corneal infection, which is mostly caused by yeast or filamentous fungi, can have devastating and irreversible effects if not treated on time. For instance, if the disease is left untreated, 50% of infected eyes can suffer from visual impairment or loss of sight due to irreversible corneal damage. The incidence of the disease, which has increased over the past four decades, has been the result of overuse of topical steroids and antibacterial agents, the rise in the number of patients with immuno-deficiencies, trauma, chronic ocular diseases and corneal anesthetic abuse. Contact lens wearers are also a growing sector of the population at risk for fungal keratitis as tear deposits of a lipid and carbohydrate nature accumulate on the contact lens surface, which can serve as a substrate for microbial colonization and growth. |
- High speed and high sensitivity for rapid and accurate diagnosis
- Inexpensive
- Versatile as a variety of probes can be added or subtracted to create different arrays that can be employed in a wide variety of applications
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| Drs. Eduardo C. Alfonso and Jack W. Fell |
