CU Anschutz tests new glaucoma laser
- University of Colorado Anschutz researchers reported in February that a new endoscopic glaucoma laser looked at least as precise as older methods in donated human eyes, before any patient use. - The CU team compared standard endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation, a newer Leos device and transscleral cyclophotocoagulation, finding the newer endoscopic system caused localized tissue effects while the external laser showed broader collateral disruption. - The work is preclinical, not a patient trial, as newer direct and automated glaucoma lasers are being tested elsewhere in randomized studies. (clinicaltrials.gov)
Glaucoma damages the optic nerve when pressure inside the eye stays too high, and laser treatment tries to lower that pressure by changing how the eye makes or drains fluid. At CU Anschutz, the latest laser work is still in the lab, not in patients. (news.cuanschutz.edu) The University of Colorado Anschutz Department of Ophthalmology said on February 24, 2026 that researchers found a newer endoscopic glaucoma laser appeared to perform as well as, or better than, older procedures in human cadaver eyes. The work involved four CU faculty members and a former glaucoma fellow, Saif Aldeen Alryalat, now at the University of Illinois Chicago. (news.cuanschutz.edu) The procedure under study was not direct selective laser trabeculoplasty, or DSLT. It was a newer version of endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation, or ECP, a surgery that targets the ciliary processes, the tissue behind the iris that produces the fluid influencing eye pressure. (news.cuanschutz.edu) (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) Standard ECP works from inside the eye with a tiny camera, while transscleral cyclophotocoagulation works from outside the eye through the white wall of the eye. Leo Seibold, chief of glaucoma service at the Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Eye Center, said the outside approach is less precise because surgeons cannot directly see the target tissue. (news.cuanschutz.edu) CU researchers published two cadaver-eye papers in 2025 comparing standard ECP, a newer Leos endoscopic device from BVI Medical, and transscleral cyclophotocoagulation. One used scanning electron microscopy, and the other used histology, which means examining thin tissue slices under a microscope. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 1) (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 2) In both papers, the newer endoscopic device produced localized disruption of the ciliary epithelium and ciliary processes, while the transscleral approach showed broader damage extending into nearby stroma and muscle. Those are anatomy findings, not measurements of how much eye pressure fell in living patients. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 1) (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 2) That distinction matters because social posts about glaucoma lasers have recently focused on office-based, non-contact systems such as DSLT, which aims at the drainage meshwork rather than the fluid-producing ciliary tissue. ClinicalTrials.gov records show randomized DSLT-versus-standard selective laser trabeculoplasty studies are being organized at the Medical University of South Carolina, with one estimated to start in April 2026 and enroll 172 patients. (clinicaltrials.gov 1) (clinicaltrials.gov 2) A separate completed industry-sponsored DSLT study, NCT03750201, described the treatment as an automated, non-contact alternative to standard selective laser trabeculoplasty and said no results had been posted as of the record update in July 2025. That means the public evidence trail for newer glaucoma lasers is still uneven across devices and study designs. (clinicaltrials.gov) BVI said in July 2025 that the Leos system used in the CU cadaver work was FDA-cleared in April 2025 and had its first clinical use that month. The CU story did not report patient-level outcomes, intraocular pressure reductions, or a randomized clinical trial at Anschutz. (bvimedical.com) (news.cuanschutz.edu) For now, the CU Anschutz result is a microscope-level signal: a newer endoscopic laser may hit glaucoma tissue more cleanly than older approaches in donated eyes. The next step is the one the cadaver studies cannot answer — whether that precision translates into safer or better pressure control for patients. (news.cuanschutz.edu) (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
