Foresight: Charity-led eye imaging database for research & discovery
Research type
Research Database
IRAS ID
332381
Contact name
Wen Hwa Lee
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
years, months, days
Research summary
Foresight: Charity-led, UK-wide, community-level ophthalmic imaging resource for research and discovery
REC name
East of England - Cambridge East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/EE/0216
Date of REC Opinion
20 Nov 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion
Data collection arrangements
We will collect and store ophthalmic/ retinal imaging from each consented participant through an in-person appointment at a registered community optometry practice. Participants will have a choice in where their ophthalmic/ retinal imaging can be collected, which will depend on the number of practices participating in the Foresight project. We will curate and maintain an updated public list of such practices for the duration of the Foresight project.
Ophthalmic and retinal imaging to be collected include colour fundus photographs (CFP) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) from the participant’s eyes (one CFP and one OCT per eye). These will be collected under a harmonised protocol which will be followed by all the participating optometrists.
During the collection, the optometrists can also add ophthalmic clinical observations and findings in addition to augment the context and information of the imaging data. In such a case, data input will be restricted for harmonisation with the Foresight data dictionary, which will be based on the INSIGHT Hub’s data dictionary to ensure future interoperability between these two complementary national bioresources.Participants will also complete a baseline questionnaire on demographics, socioeconomics, physical activity, lifestyle exposures, family history, medical history, and medications.
Research programme
Inspired by the concept described in the 2018 Industrial Strategy Life Sciences Sector Deal 2 (“… to develop a first-of-its-kind, world-leading cohort of healthy participants.”), Foresight was designed to be the ophthalmic imaging equivalent that complements the UK national strategy - which has been implemented as the 'Our Future Health' programme. Foresight was also designed to support and complement INSIGHT Hub - the World's largest bioresource of secondary-care ophthalmic imaging. Other existing programmes which we believe can be supported and complemented by our community-level data are the UK Biobank and Genomics England. We have also designed Foresight to support health/biomedical researchers in Academia, industry and SMEs/ start-ups, covering a wide range of scientific expertise including ophthalmology, neurosciences, data sciences, drug discovery, biomarker discovery, to name a few. Finally, we hope our data will also support clinical research and decision-making by public bodies and regulators, as it can provide baseline, real-world evidence for ophthalmic research and the nascent field of Oculomics.
Research database title
Foresight: Charity-led, UK-wide, community-level ophthalmic imaging resource for research and discovery
Establishment organisation
Foresight Research Ltd.
Establishment organisation address
3 Queen Square
London
WC1N 3AR