Home Visual Field Monitoring for Glaucoma in the COVID Era
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Home Visual Field Monitoring for Glaucoma in the COVID Era
IRAS ID
283443
Contact name
Hari Jayaram
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 1 days
Research summary
Glaucoma is the leading cause of preventable sight loss in the United Kingdom, and is characterised by damage to the optic nerve which leads to gradual loss of patients' field of vision. Measurement of a patient’s visual field is therefore an integral component of glaucoma monitoring. This currently requires patients to travel to a clinic or hospital to have this test performed. Over a half of glaucoma patients at Moorfields Eye Hospital are older than 70 years of age, and are therefore at higher risk from COVID-19. Travel to and from clinics and attendance within a hospital setting, where concerns about social distancing may exist, are a concern for both patients and doctors.
This project will explore whether visual field testing performed at home by patients on their own computer can be used to help monitor their glaucoma. The study will compare the results of home testing to hospital testing, and see if home visual field tests can be used a safe alternative to hospital attendance.
If home visual field monitoring is shown to be comparable to hospital-based testing, this will have a huge impact upon how we deliver glaucoma care across the United Kingdom. It has the potential to reduce the need for hospital visits for both stable patients and also those who require closer and more intensive monitoring. This change in practice has the potential to help reduce the COVID-19 risk to an older and more vulnerable population in the new era in which we now work.
REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/HRA/2645
Date of REC Opinion
10 Jun 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion