Investigation of summation under conditions of microperimetry in AMD
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigation of spatial, temporal and spatiotemporal summation under adaptation conditions of microperimetry in age-related macular disease
IRAS ID
245800
Contact name
PJ Mulholland
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Ulster University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
The retina contains light sensitive cells and nerve fibres which enable the absorption of light. Vision is most sensitive in the central part of the retina called the macula due to there being a higher number of light sensitive cells and nerve fibres in this region of the eye. The macula provides us with detailed central vision which can become impaired if the macula is damaged, like in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is a chronic, progressive eye disease affecting the central retina and is one of the leading causes of vision loss worldwide.
Central to the diagnosis and monitoring of AMD is the measurement of vision. This is used to determine patient eligibility for treatments, registration for visual impairment and therefore access to support and services. One test that is increasingly being used is microperimetry (MP). This requires the patient to detect brief, fixed-sized spots of white light presented on a grey background at different locations in the central field of vision. The brightness of the spot is changed according to patient response at each test location, to produce a sensitivity map for each eye.
Whilst widely adopted, MP was designed with no regard for how the visual system collects light energy over space and time (spatial, temporal, and spatiotemporal summation), and how this may change in AMD. As a result, both the sensitivity of MP to early AMD, in addition to range of disease over which the test provides useful information, may be limited through the arbitrary selection of stimulus area and presentation duration. In this project the capacity to collect light over space and time in AMD will be investigated with the goal of creating an AMD-specific MP test.
REC name
HSC REC A
REC reference
18/NI/0167
Date of REC Opinion
3 Oct 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion