iTrack Advance illuminates canaloplasty

Nova Eye Medical is drawing attention to a small but practical feature of its iTrack Advance canaloplasty system: the illuminated tip. In company materials and a recent social-media post, the glaucoma-device maker says the microcatheter’s green transscleral light helps surgeons see where the catheter is in Schlemm’s canal and follow viscoelastic delivery during canaloplasty. The device is part of Nova Eye’s push around canal-based, implant-free glaucoma surgery for adults with open-angle glaucoma. Company product pages say the system is designed for catheterization and viscodilation of Schlemm’s canal to reduce intraocular pressure. ### Why does the light matter once the catheter is already in the eye? Nova Eye Medical says the illuminated microcatheter tip provides transscleral visualization during the procedure, giving the surgeon continuous feedback on catheter location as it advances through Schlemm’s canal. On the company’s iTrack Advance overview page, Nova Eye says surgeons can navigate the canal with an illuminated tip and then deliver pressurized viscoelastic in a full 360-degree pass. (nova-eye.com) The older iTrack platform was also built around illumination. Nova Eye’s iTrack overview page says the original device was the first canaloplasty system to feature an illuminated microcatheter tip, while physician-facing materials say the light helps guard against misdirection into the suprachoroidal space or collector channels. ### What exactly is the surgeon trying to visualize during canaloplasty? Canaloplasty is aimed at restoring conventional aqueous outflow through the trabecular meshwork, Schlemm’s canal and collector channels, according to Nova Eye’s canaloplasty materials. (nova-eye.com) The company says iTrack Advance combines catheterization with pressurized viscodilation so the surgeon can treat the canal circumferentially rather than place a permanent implant. (nova-eye.com) Nova Eye also says iTrack Advance uses what it calls Shear Clear technology to reduce viscoelastic viscosity during delivery. The company’s product pages say that process is intended to support distribution through Schlemm’s canal and into collector channels during a 360-degree treatment pass, though Nova Eye notes its viscosity data come from in-house bench testing and may not predict clinical outcomes. (nova-eye.com) ### How are surgeons describing the benefit in the operating room? Ophthalmology Management, in a 2024 technology feature, quoted surgeon Nathan Radcliffe as saying the “blinking light” is a critical safety feature because it shows where the catheter tip is during canaloplasty and trabeculotomy. That article described iTrack Advance as a more efficient way to complete a 360-degree canaloplasty, while noting the device is not indicated for trabeculotomy. (nova-eye.com) The company’s current marketing emphasis goes a step further by framing illumination as a way to follow viscoelastic flow in real time. Nova Eye’s recent materials and social post present that visibility as useful when blood or other intraoperative factors make angle-based visualization harder, though those claims are presented by the company rather than in a peer-reviewed comparative study surfaced in this search. (ophthalmologymanagement.com) ### Where does iTrack Advance sit in Nova Eye’s broader glaucoma lineup? Nova Eye says iTrack has been used in more than 150,000 procedures globally since the original platform’s launch, and describes iTrack Advance as the next-generation version with an ergonomic handpiece and the same illuminated microcatheter concept. A 2023 report in Ophthalmology Times, citing a company release, said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared iTrack Advance through the 510(k) pathway for adult patients with primary open-angle glaucoma. (nova-eye.com) The company’s U.S. product site says iTrack Advance is cleared for fluid infusion and aspiration during surgery and for catheterization and viscodilation of Schlemm’s canal in adult patients with open-angle glaucoma. Nova Eye’s clinical-applications page separately says ab interno use is not a cleared indication for the original iTrack in the United States, underscoring that surgeons need to check device-specific labeling and market-specific indications. (nova-eye.com) ### What should readers watch next? Nova Eye Medical’s next public step is likely to come through its product pages, physician education materials and conference-based marketing around canaloplasty workflow. The company’s current iTrack Advance pages, plus its dedicated physician sites, are where it is posting updated claims, indications and surgeon-facing technique material for open-angle glaucoma use. (nova-eye.com) (itrack-advance.com)