Design and Use Validation of Moisture Chamber to Prevent Corneal Injury

• Grant number: 23/13422-2
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: February 01, 2024
• End date: January 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Nursing
• Principal Investigator: Gustavo Trindade Valio
• Grantee: Gustavo Trindade Valio
• Company: Gustavo Trindade Valio
• CNAE: Fabricação de artefatos de material plástico não especificados anteriormente
• Associated researchers: Patricia Rezende do Prado
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/07717-2 - Validation of design and use of a wet chamber to prevent corneal injury., BP.TT; 24/04656-2 - Design and use validation of wet chamber to prevent corneal injury, BP.PIPE

Abstract

Justification: The incidence of corneal injury is high in sedated and mechanically ventilated participants due to the loss of the protective functions of blinking and closing the eyelids properly, which will result in the loss of lubrication and protection of the corneas. There are several interventions that can be used to prevent corneal injury. However, the moisture chamber demonstrates greater effectiveness, in addition to providing several benefits such as easy production and handling, low cost and greater durability. International and Brazilian research has used the camera in an improvised way, without industrial parameters, manufacturing it manually. Therefore, this study aims to develop and clinically test moisture chambers that can be manufactured at scale to prevent corneal injury in sedated and mechanically ventilated participants. Objective: Validate the design of the chamber and its effectiveness in preventing corneal injury with a view to the possibility of manufacturing on an industrial scale. Method: The chamber was designed by USP in partnership with Start up Manish, carrying out initial tests on the design and material to be used. This project aims to validate, through a double-blind controlled randomized clinical study, its effectiveness in preventing corneal injury. The sample will consist of 80 sedated and mechanically ventilated adult participants, 40 in the control group and 40 in the intervention group. Participants will be randomized, randomly, using Minitab Software, and paired according to the variables gender, age and medical diagnosis. The chamber will be placed and changed by an intensive care nurse every 12 hours initially. The corneas will be evaluated by instilling a drop of fluorescein eye drops and using an ophthalmoscope with cobalt blue light. Expected results: that the humid chamber is effective in reducing or even completely avoiding the incidence of corneal injury in sedated and mechanically ventilated patients and that it can be manufactured on a scale to be commercializ (AU)