TearScience, Inc., a privately-held medical device company, announced that the Toronto-based Herzig Eye Institute, one of the leading authorities in laser vision correction and advanced cataract and refractive surgery, is the first eye care centre in North America to introduce the innovative LipiFlow® evaporative dry eye disease treatment system, which has received a medical device license from Health Canada.

Evaporative dry eye is caused by a deficiency in the lipid layer of the eye's natural tear film, resulting from blockages in the lipid-producing meibomian glands located in the eyelids, called meibomian gland dysfunction. A lipid deficiency can lead to evaporation of tears at a faster rate than normal, which can leave eyes feeling dry, irritated, tired and red.

Of the more than 100 million dry eye sufferers worldwide, approximately 65 percent have evaporative dry eye. TearScience's LipiFlow® Thermal Pulsation System is a significant technological shift in treating meibomian gland dysfunction and evaporative dry eye, allowing eyelid gland blockages to be treated during a non-invasive procedure at an eye care office. Opening the blocked eyelid glands allows the glands to resume the natural production of lipids needed for a healthy tear film.

"The Herzig Eye Institute is thrilled to be the first centre in North America to offer patients TearScience's LipiFlow® system," states Dr. Sheldon Herzig, co-founder and medical director of the Herzig Eye Institute. "This treatment is a leading edge breakthrough that will improve how we treat patients suffering from chronic dry eye. While there is no cure for chronic dry eye, LipiFlow® opens blocked meibomian glands, allowing the glands to resume the natural lipid secretion needed in the tear film to lubricate and prevent evaporation."

TearScience's technology platform is comprised of the LipiView® Ocular Surface Interferometer and the LipiFlow® Thermal Pulsation System. LipiView® allows physicians to visualize the tear film of patients with dry eye disease. LipiFlow® applies a precise combination of heat and pressure to a patient's eyelids during a 12-minute in-office treatment, which is designed to alleviate meibomian gland blockages.

"We are pleased to be working with the Herzig Eye Institute, one of the most innovative eye care centres in North America," said Jeff O'Hara, vice president of North American sales for TearScience. "Together, Herzig and TearScience can help patients return to the many daily activities that dry eye has kept them from enjoying."

An industry leader, the Herzig Eye Institute provides High Definition Vision® solutions for their patients including laser vision correction, advanced cataract and refractive surgery, solutions for presbyopia and evaporative dry eye treatments. Led by co-founder and medical director Sheldon Herzig, MD, FRCSC, former president of the Canadian Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, and co-founder and CEO Cherry Tabb, recipient of the RBC Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Innovations, the Herzig Eye Institute utilizes only the most advanced, state-of-the-art technologies to deliver the best eye care solutions safely and reliably. Herzig's world renowned physicians deliver the best care and surgical outcomes for patients.

Source:
TearScience, Inc.
Herzig Eye Institute