South Dakota Patent of the Month – April 2025
A new wearable eye device from Balance Ophthalmics may revolutionize how glaucoma is treated. Instead of drugs or surgery, it uses controlled pressure to improve blood flow to the eye, aiming to reduce intraocular pressure and prevent vision loss.
The technology is protected under U.S. Patent No. 12,279,825, titled “Apparatus and methods to adjust ocular blood flow.” The system includes an eye cover that forms a sealed space around the eye. It uses a connected pressure source and sensors to safely alter that pressure in response to real-time feedback from the patient.
A Drug-Free Approach to Eye Pressure
By targeting ocular blood flow, the device aims to relieve pressure inside the eye without invasive procedures. Early clinical trials show promising results, especially for patients with normal-tension glaucoma who are often harder to treat. Over 98 percent of tested eyes achieved at least a 20 percent drop in intraocular pressure, according to company data.
FDA Recognition Confirms Innovation
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted the device De Novo classification, a rare approval reserved for new types of medical technology. That makes Balance Ophthalmics’ invention the first of its kind cleared for this use in the United States.
If widely adopted, this technology could change how doctors manage one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness.
Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.
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The Research & Experimentation Tax Credit (or R&D Tax Credit), is a general business tax credit under Internal Revenue Code section 41 for companies that incur research and development (R&D) costs in the United States. The credits are a tax incentive for performing qualified research in the United States, resulting in a credit to a tax return. For the first three years of R&D claims, 6% of the total qualified research expenses (QRE) form the gross credit. In the 4th year of claims and beyond, a base amount is calculated, and an adjusted expense line is multiplied times 14%. Click here to learn more.
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