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Medical Device · Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a two-pressure disease.

QMAX is the first implant built to treat it that way.

See how QMAX worksMeet the team

Translaminar gradientTranslaminar pressure gradientThe pressure difference across the optic nerve head between IOP and CSF pressure. A sustained gradient strains nerve fibers.

The pressure difference between eye fluid and brain fluid that drives nerve damage in glaucoma

Intraocular pressure (IOP)Intraocular pressureFluid pressure inside the eye. Most glaucoma therapies aim to lower IOP.Translaminar pressure zoneTranslaminar pressure zoneThe region across the optic nerve head where the pressure difference between IOP and CSF pressure builds and strains nerve fibers — not a single point, but where the opposing pressures meet.Brain fluid pressure (ICP)Cerebrospinal fluid pressurePressure in the fluid space around the optic nerve, behind the lamina cribrosa.

First-in-class glaucoma implant

A permanently implanted, bleb-free, micro-shunt that relieves strain on the optic nerve by equalizing the pressure difference over the optic nerve headOptic nerve headWhere retinal nerve fibers exit the eye. QMAX is designed to relieve strain at this point., addressing the underlying mechanism behind vision loss in glaucoma.

Cross-section of QMAX implant equalizing pressure at the optic nerve head.
IOPIntraocular pressureFluid pressure inside the eye. Most glaucoma therapies aim to lower IOP.Optic nerve headOptic nerve headWhere retinal nerve fibers exit the eye. QMAX is designed to relieve strain at this point.ICPCerebrospinal fluid pressurePressure in the fluid space around the optic nerve, behind the lamina cribrosa.
QSCOPE endoscopic delivery system close-up.

Endoscopic delivery.

QSCOPE, a single-use endoscopic system designed for the high turnover workflow.

Illustration showing QMAX does not create a filtering bleb.

No bleb.

A closed pathway, with no bleb to manage or revise.

Illustration of mitomycin C packaging — agents QMAX does not require.

No anti-fibrotics.

No reliance on mitomycin C or anti-scarring agents.

More about the QMAX

Glaucoma is the world's leading cause of irreversible blindness

Worldwide, over 80 million people live with glaucoma. Today's surgeries and drugs aim to lower eye pressure, and yet vision loss continues.

The Progression of Glaucoma

Healthy Visual Field

80M+

people living with glaucoma globally

1 in 4

patients will go blind in at least one eye from glaucoma

We have been solving only half the problem

Cause

Glaucoma damages vision when sustained pressure strains the optic nerve headOptic nerve headWhere retinal nerve fibers exit the eye. QMAX is designed to relieve strain at this point.. Fluid inside the eye (intraocular pressure) and fluid around the optic nerve both matter. When the translaminar gradientTranslaminar pressure gradientThe pressure difference across the optic nerve head between IOP and CSF pressure. A sustained gradient strains nerve fibers. between them stays elevated, nerve fibers are damaged and sight is lost, even when eye pressure looks acceptable on its own. Treating IOPIntraocular pressureFluid pressure inside the eye. Most glaucoma therapies aim to lower IOP. alone leaves half the equation untouched. Over the past decade, the field has increasingly converged on this gradient as a primary driver of vision loss, and QMAX is built to address it directly.

Inside the eye

The pressure inside the eye.

Cross-section of the eye showing pressure from within the globe.

Around the optic nerve

The pressure in the fluid space around the optic nerve.

Optic nerve head showing opposing pressure from inside the eye and around the nerve.
Symptoms

Glaucoma is often called the silent thief of sight because it can progress with few or no early symptoms. Peripheral vision may narrow first; over time, untreated disease can lead to tunnel vision and irreversible blindness. Regular eye exams are essential because damage can occur before a person notices vision loss.

Healthy Visual Field
Mild Glaucoma
Moderate Glaucoma
Severe Glaucoma
Blindness
Current treatments

Most care today lowers IOPIntraocular pressureFluid pressure inside the eye. Most glaucoma therapies aim to lower IOP. with eye drops, laser therapy, or surgery such as trabeculectomy, tube shunts, and MIGS devices. These approaches can slow progression, but they focus on pressure inside the eye, not the full pressure difference across the optic nerve headOptic nerve headWhere retinal nerve fibers exit the eye. QMAX is designed to relieve strain at this point. that drives nerve strain.

50%

of tube shunt devices fail within the first five years

Diagram of conventional glaucoma surgical treatments.

Built by surgeons, engineers, and operators.

LIQID is led by a glaucoma surgeon-founder and a multidisciplinary team across biomedical engineering, clinical research, regulatory, and quality.

LIQID Medical was founded to do one thing well: address glaucoma at the mechanism. The company is led by people who have spent careers inside this disease.

Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States (est. 2017).

Supported by

CDI CapitalSAB FoundationTIASavant

Three ways you can move QMAX forward.

Investors

We are advancing QMAX through Bridge financing toward Series A and US clinical milestones. If preventing blindness from glaucoma fits your thesis, we want to talk.

Open an investor conversation

Strategic partners

Surgical innovators, distributors, and strategics: QMAX is built for the high turnover workflow and the next paradigm of glaucoma care.

Discuss partnership

Talent

Engineering, clinical, regulatory, quality. Send your CV. We will read it.

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