Thermal System Helps Unblock Dry Eyes

A new system for treating evaporative dry eye heats and massages the eyelids, helping to unblock the flow of lipids from the meibomian glands, found under the eyelids.

The LipiFlow Thermal Pulsation System provides the ability to two treat both eyes simultaneously, cutting treatment time in half, to about 12 minutes. The LipiFlow console incorporates an enhanced graphical user interface (GUI) to control pressure and display the treatment temperature, pressure sequence, and treatment time remaining. It also allows physicians to store a record of the treatment on the device and on electronic medical record (EMR) servers, eliminating the need to document the treatment manually. The LipiFlow Thermal Pulsation System is a product of TearScience (Morrisville, NC, USA), and has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).


“The improvements in this next generation LipiFlow reflect TearScience’s commitment to innovation,” said Tim Willis, CEO and cofounder of TearScience. “TearScience expects to provide many more enhancements that will assist physicians in treating dry eye sufferers efficiently, effectively and profitably. “

Of the more than 100 million dry eye sufferers worldwide, approximately 80% have evaporative dry eye, which is caused by meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) and a lipid deficiency of the eye’s natural tear film. The condition leaves patients with too few tears, making the remaining ones feel too salty. Common symptoms of evaporative dry eye disease include eye irritation, dryness, redness, tiredness, and visual disturbances.

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