Next-generation ophthalmic diagnostics
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Next-generation ophthalmic diagnostics
IRAS ID
284288
Contact name
Mario E. Giardini
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Strathclyde
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
GA-02298-Grant, RS MacDonald Charitable Trust; EP/LO15595/1, EPSRC
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 8 months, 27 days
Research summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced NHS Scotland to restrict face-to-face ophthalmic consultations in hospitals to sight-threatening or life-threatening conditions, thus severely reducing hospital services related to less urgent cases. Yet some of these less-urgent situations, such as the management of amblyopia (“lazy eye”) in children, or subtle vision changes related to the compression of the optic nerve, can have severe and long-lasting consequences.
The assessment of the capacity to see small details (visual acuity), or to see colour, or to differentiate faint images against a uniform background (contrast perception), is key to clinical decision making. Without these tests, decisions are made on subjective information from patients and, especially in the case of young patients, can be outright impossible.
Vision tests based on computer monitors, phones, or tablets, can be used in community care or, in specific cases, in the patients’ homes. In our pre-pandemic research, we developed a prototype vision test app intended to measure, with little to no assistance, visual acuity, and contrast and colour perception. This app is suitable both for children and for adults.
To the present day, this app has been tested on healthy volunteers only. We now propose to test our app on patients suffering from two key conditions. This will inform the possibility to use this app to support this type of patients. In particular, we propose to test our visual acuity app on children being tested for amblyopia, and the app for testing colour and contrast perception on adults suffering from optic nerve problems. The study participants will undergo their normal tests, and will then be tested with our app, so that we can compare the results.
Our work is supported by the Teresa Rosenbaum Golden Charitable Trust (Rosetrees Trust), the RS MacDonald Charitable Trust, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/YH/0336
Date of REC Opinion
5 Feb 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion