Powerful Symptom Reduction

OSDI results from our 4-week, ARVO-published clinical study of the OcuTherm® Eye Compress System are shown at right.¹

The study examined 30 adult subjects with clinically-diagnosed MGD and/or blepharitis who had persistent symptoms despite ongoing dry eye therapy. All previous treatments, including artificial tears, Restasis®, Omega-3 supplements, and other interventions, were allowed to continue during the study. Subjects who had previously used washcloths and other types of warm eye compresses were asked to switch to the OcuTherm system.

Strong Daily Compliance

Subjects recorded the number of uses per day, and reported no difficulties using the OcuTherm System at home. The result: an average compliance of 1.3 OcuTherm® uses per day.

These results compare favorably to the frequently-cited recommendation of using heated treatments “at least once a day.” ²

Excellent Treatment Duration

Subjects recorded the duration of each OcuTherm treatment performed. The result: an average of 14.0 minutes per OcuTherm treatment.

Longer treatments have been shown to improve tear film lipid layer thickness, by allowing sufficient time for better melting of abnormal lipids.^3-5 Currently, we recommend treatments between 3 and 10 minutes in length.

Reduced Artificial Tear Use

* 20 of the 30 subjects recorded all use of artificial tears and gels. During the first week of treatment, average use was 15.8 uses in total. For the second week, this was reduced to 13.0, for a total reduction of 18%. P=0.033 for the difference in values.

¹Chinwuba I, Tsui E, Mitry M, et al. The OcuTherm System, a Novel At-Home Eyelid Thermal Treatment Device – A 4-Week Clinical Study. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2017;58(8):2684.

²Geerling G, Tauber J, Baudouin C, et al. The international workshop on meibomian gland dysfunction: report of the subcommittee on management and treatment of meibomian gland dysfunction. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2011;52:2050–2064.

³ Murakami DK, Blackie CA, Korb DR. All Warm Compresses Are Not Equally Efficacious. Optom Vis Sci. 2015 Sep;92(9):e327-33.

⁴Blackie CA, Solomon JD, Greiner JV, et al. Inner eyelid surface temperature as a function of warm compress methodology. Optom Vis Sci. 2008 Aug;85(8):675-83.

⁵Olson MC, Korb DR, Greiner JV. Increase in tear film lipid layer thickness following treatment with warm compresses in patients with meibomian gland dysfunction. Eye Contact Lens. 2003;29:96–99.