David Coyle has had diabetes for decades, but in 2011 he was told that his condition could lead to him going blind.
The Consett based architectural technician - who works for Durham County Council - was terrified of losing his sight, and his livelihood. He was given laser treatment, but after a number of months this caused his eyes to become sensitive and painful, and he lost much of his peripheral vision.
David, 48, has diabetic retinopathy - a condition which sees high blood sugar cause damage and bleeding to vital parts of the retina in the back of someone's eye. In David's case, though his diabetes had been reasonably well controlled - it was simply a consequence of having been diabetic for decades, he was told.
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Though laser treatment and injections can help manage the condition - they are both invasive treatments and, neither guarantees to stop the deterioration which can lead to blindness. After months of treatment, in 2015 he began wearing an innovative eye mask which uses precisely calibrated wavelengths of light to stimulate the eye and prevent damage.
Remarkably, wearing the mask - now adopted by an NHS Trust in the south of England - stopped the downward spiral. The mask itself is called a Noctura 400 Sleep Mask and it has been developed by Sedgefield med-tech firm PolyPhotonix. It can be used to prevent the problem developing, too.
The idea is to deliver a precise level of light at a particular wavelength during a patient’s sleep. The light convinces the eye that it is daylight and someone is awake, but does not register in their sight, affect their circadian rhythm or wake them. This reduces the eyes’ increased demand of oxygen at night and and with that the damaging effects of diabetic retinopathy.
David told ChronicleLive : "When you are a diabetic, after a certain age they do annual eye checks. It was 2011 and I had the check and then was informed by letter that I needed to go to University Hospital of North Durham. They did various eye tests - and I was informed I had quite a few bleeds and had developed diabetic retinopathy.
"It was a really scary point - to be told that if it continued I could lose my sight, my ability to drive. I was so scared and worried about going blind. I had to have laser treatment and that really reduced my peripheral vision."
But in 2014 he heard about the Noctura mask - and signed up. Though not available on the NHS at the time, he was able to pay for it - and added: "I have been wearing the mask every night for eight years and there's been no further deterioration. I've had no change in my eyes for eight years. And that's after being told I would be going blind in the long run. It's worked wonders for me."
Now, the Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust in Surrey has adopted the mask as a treatment, and its inventors hope other NHS bodies around the country will follow suit. The mask is also being approved for use around the world.
Richard Kirk, chief executive at PolyPhotonix said: "For the NHS, treating diabetic retinopathy patients with the Noctura 400 sleep mask represents a cost-effective alternative to existing treatments. At a time when our healthcare budgets are already stretched, adding the sleep mask to existing care pathways makes sound financial sense in helping healthcare services recover from the pandemic and freeing up hospital appointments for those in greater need of emergency care."
Consultant ophthalmic surgeon Ulrich Meyer-Bothling - from the Ashford and St Peter's NHS Trust - said the mask had huge benefits for patients like David and for the health service. He said: "The trust’s decision to offer the sleep mask as part of its diabetic retinopathy pathway is great news for patients and the NHS alike.
"For patients, it represents a pain-free treatment option for their condition. It is non-invasive, and they are, in effect, treated whilst they sleep. It also doesn’t require patients to attend the hospital as frequently, giving them more of their time back. It represents a gentler approach to treating or even preventing diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular oedema.
"I’m proud that most of the patients I have treated with the mask have shown stabilisation and improvement in their diabetic eye disease.”
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