Gel Seals Eye Wounds

Guest: John Whalen, PhD, Research Professor of Ophthalmology, Roski Eye Institute, University of Southern California Of the soldiers wounded in combat in the Middle East, 13 percent had wounds to their eyes. Likewise, 13 percent of injured victims of the Boston Marathon bombing had eye wounds. In situations of mass trauma, medics and first responders have to treat life threatening wounds first, delaying attention to injuries to the eyes. But researchers at University of Southern California are developing an intervention—it’s a type of gel--that can be easily administered directly into the damaged eyeball, at the scene, essentially buying the patient time until they can receive the necessary surgery.