Rheon Medical is revolutionizing the surgical treatment of glaucoma

EPFL spin-off Rheon Medical has developed the world's first adjustable glaucoma drainage system, which has already been used successfully in over 250 patients in Europe. 6 million Series C funding round in December 2020 and just received the U.S. FDA's Breakthrough Device Designation for its technology. Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness, afflicting more than 75 million people worldwide. "It's most often due to an increase in a patient's intraocular pressure (IOP). When this pressure gets too high, the optic nerve could get damaged and, if left untreated, result in vision loss," says Nikos Stergiopulos, founder and CEO of Rheon Medical and head of EPFL's Laboratory of Hemodynamics and Cardiovascular Technology. Stergiopulos' father suffered from glaucoma, causing him to lose one eye and impairing his vision in the other. At the time, Stergiopulos was supervising a PhD candidate who was an ophthalmologist.