Effect of choroidal blood flow on transscleral retinal drug delivery using a porous medium model

Transscleral drug delivery is one of the methods of depositing drug in the posterior segment (comprising retina, choroid, sclera and macula) of the human eye, to treat diseases such as age related macular degeneration (AMD). In this study, the effect of choroidal blood flow on transscleral drug delivery to the retina is investigated using a porous medium model of the sclera and the choroid. A two-dimensional geometrical model of the human eye is constructed from available measurements and determination of physicochemical properties of the sclera and the choroid, such as their effective diffusivity D and porous medium permeability K  . Position and time dependent concentrations of the drug in the sclera and the choroid are predicted and the relative magnitudes of the periocular, vitreous and circulation losses are compared for various blood flow velocities UbUb. The simulations also predict the transient mean plasma concentration C¯ of the drug anecortave desacetate in the choroid and the effect of choroidal blood flow on the peak mean plasma concentration C¯max. Comparison of predicted C¯ with available experimental results is good.