NaviSight_V1

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  NaviSight: The Role of the Peripheral Retina in Diabetic Retinopathy: From Basic Science to Town Planning

• IRAS ID

  276978

• Contact name

  Tunde Peto

• Contact email

  t.peto@qub.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Queen's University Belfast

• Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

  N/A, N/A

• Duration of Study in the UK

  2 years, 9 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  Summary of Research

  People living with visual impairment face many challenges on a daily basis. One of the most prominent challenges is navigating the built environment. Many people with a visual impairment will not go out of their houses alone or will stick only to certain routes. Going out into the built environment can cause feelings of stress and anxiety and this can often make people isolated and lonely.

  The study aims to:
  1) Investigate if the extent of a person’s visual loss can be determined through retinal imaging and correlates with visual function assessment
  2) To establish how the loss of vision and function impacts on independent mobility and which barriers in navigation of the built environment are created by visual impairment

  The study will involve 3 visits – 1 to the Northern Ireland Clinical Research Facility (NICRF) at the City Hospital and the other 2 will be ‘walkarounds’ of a small area in the University Quarter (in different seasons).
  Visit 1 will involve questionnaires, imaging , visual acuity, dark adaptation and visual fields. Should the COVID-19 pandemic persist, participants will be asked to complete questionnaires via Microsoft teams or by phone call and then attend NICRF for their imaging to reduce contact time. Participants will also be given the opportunity to try Oxsight glasses.

  Visits 2 and 3 will follow a similar structure in both instances. Participants will take a short walk around the university area, accompanied by members of the research team. During this walk they will ne asked to identify any challenges or barriers to navigating the built environment. Members of the research team will take some measurements such as timing, light and noise measurements. Some participants will also have a camera attached to them to record the route they take and how they decipher navigating barriers during the walk.

  Summary of Results

  In total, 33 people attended for the study, 22 had diabetes and 11 had retinitis pigmentosa. There was an age range of 18-76 and 69.7% of participants were male. Of those who had diabetes most (72.7%) had type 1 diabetes and the duration of diabetes ranged from 2 years – 67 years.

  Results of the Study
  • Over 70% of participants had issues with visual function
  • 80% of those with RP faced problems when completing the walkaround
  • 43.8% reported issues with difficulty, confidence and anxiety during the walkaround
  • 30% of participants reported confidence issues during the walkaround while
  • 36.4% reported difficulties when walking and navigating
  • 27.3% reported some level of anxiety
  • Some of the most common issues discussed during the walk were bollards, shop signs, advertisement boards, uneven pavements, parked cars, colour contrast, tree roots and leaves.
  • While visual function loss seems to correlate with difficulties for people with retinitis pigmentosa, people with diabetes do not seem to have the same issues

• REC name

  Wales REC 5

• REC reference

  20/WA/0350

• Date of REC Opinion

  11 Jan 2021

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion