Dry eye affects around 38-40 million adults in the United States, and its incidence is likely to rise in the future decades. This condition impacts visual quality, work productivity, social interactions, sleep, and quality of life. Dry eye is a specific form of ocular surface disease characterized by discomfort, reduced vision, or both from altered tear film homeostasis and ocular surface desiccation.

 In 2017, the Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society defined dry eye as a multifactorial ocular surface illness marked by a lack of tear film equilibrium. Symptoms include tear film instability and hyperosmolarity, ocular surface inflammation and injury, and neurosensory abnormalities, all of which have an etiological role. Despite the high prevalence and significant burden of dry eye, current prescription treatments remain limited. Challenges include the lack of standardized outcome measures, a complex FDA approval process, and variable efficacy, with treatments often addressing either signs or symptoms but not both.

This Methods Collection aims to explore innovative therapeutic and procedural interventions for dry eye and ocular surface diseases, offering new insights and methodologies to advance treatment approaches.