Photon Therapeutics is now taking orders for the PhotonUVC Vet, the new device which claims to treat corneal infections in five seconds which was first announced at the London Vet Show last November.

The device emits low dose 265 nanometre (nm) ultraviolet C light at a targeted area.

In a 2022 in vitro / ex vivo study to evaluate the therapeutic potential of 265nm UVC for infectious keratitis1, UVC was found to inhibit all tested bacteria and fungi, including mixed culture and strains linked to antibiotic resistance.

In the study, no evidence of infection was found from 4 hours onwards, ulcers responded significantly in under 24 hours, and at the end point, those treated with UVC performed as as well as those treated with ciprofloxacin.

Photon Therapeutics says that in simple cases, one five-second treatment will suffice, but more complex cases can be re-treated after 24 hours. 

Currently, there are two main barriers to the successful treatment of eye infections in dogs.

The first is the difficulty diagnosing the infection and identifying the right antimicrobial to use, highlighted by a 2017 study: Bacterial Isolates from Canine External Ocular Disease and their Antimicrobial Sensitivities 2. 

The second is whether the owner is able or willing to administer a topical treatment.

Here the evidence suggests that even when treatment is possible, people do not comply with clinical advice anything like as much as they claim.

Photon Therapeutics points to what it says is the nearest study there is, in which carers of young children with uveitis did not give the correct treatment in 75% of cases3.

If the device is as effective as claimed, then both these issues simply evaporate. 

PhotonUVC costs £4,995.

https://photon-therapeutics.com

VetSurgeon.org product briefing: https://www.vetsurgeon.org/m/veterinary-product-briefing/138134 

References

  1. Sanjay Marasini, Simon J. Dean, Simon Swift, Janesha Perera, Ilva D. Rupenthal, Tao Wang, Hannah Read, Jennifer P. Craig, Preclinical confirmation of UVC efficacy in treating infectious keratitis, The Ocular Surface, Volume 25,
    2022, Pages 76-86, ISSN 1542-0124, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtos.2022.05.004.
  2. Williams D., Bacterial Isolates from Canine ExternalOcular Disease and their AntimicrobialSensitivities". ARCJournal of Animal and VeterinarySciences. 2017;3(3):29-36 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.20431/2455-2518.0303005  
  3. Green EKY, McGrath O, Steeples L, Ashworth JL. Monitoring compliance to topical therapy in children and young people with uveitis. Eye (Lond). 2024 Feb;38(3):572-577. doi: 10.1038/s41433-023-02736-0. Epub 2023 Nov 6. PMID: 37932371; PMCID: PMC10858091. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37932371/ 

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