The Safety and Satisfaction of an Innovative Eye Shield Detecting Head Position for Post-Operative Intraocular Surgery

Objective: To propose an innovative head-tracking device integrated into a standard postoperative eye shield to improve the care of gas-filled eye patients. The present study aims to evaluate the satisfaction and compliance from the users of this device. Materials and Methods: Five healthy volunteers were assigned to use the innovative eye shield for three days at their home and instructed to maintain facedown positioning at all times. Subjects graded their satisfaction and safety scores. Twenty-four hours of positioning data were obtained from the phone devices connected to the eye shield by Bluetooth® system. During the study, an application in the phone will alarm if the participant’s head is in the wrong position (more than 15 degrees of the reference). Participants were interviewed about their satisfaction concerning the issue on the third day of the study. Results: Of the five subjects, four were males, and one was female. The mean age was 51.8 years old. From the questionnaires, the majority of subjects were satisfied with the appearance, weight, audio-vibrating level, wearing comfort, and easy instruction (median 5, 5, 5, 4, and 5, respectively, range from 1 to 5). For head positioning compliance, participants maintained their head positioning better in the daytime versus nighttime. The third day had worse compliance compared to the first and second days. For the safety issue, none of the participants reported the blackout of the instrument, short circuit, or skin burn event. Mild irritation from the medical tape was reported from one subject. Conclusion: The innovative eye shield is safe and improves patient compliance in maintaining head positioning after gas-filled intraocular surgery. Keywords: Retinal detachment; Macular hole; Vitrectomy; Intraocular gas/oil; Post-operative head position; Tracking device