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Research carried out at the University of Aberdeen has directly resulted in a new therapy for stroke patients who have suffered partial sight loss. The sight rehabilitation device developed through the research has so far been used to treat around 300 UK stroke patients, who reported significant improvements in their quality of life. The therapy has been publicized by the UK Stroke Association and at national and international events. The research also led to commercial impacts through the creation of a spin-out company, Sight Science Ltd, which was later acquired by its only worldwide competitor, NovaVision Inc, protecting jobs and forging a long-term commercial partnership.
The specific impacts on commerce have been: substantial industrial investment in research and development, job creation and protection within UK industry, commercialisation of a new product, and long term partnership contract with industry with provisions for commercialisation of future products.
Research at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology over the last 15 years has developed new treatments for management of uveitis and its sight-threatening complications, which have subsequently become standard practice. Our work, in previously untreatable disease, has allowed restoration of vision in many patients and prevention of further visual loss in others. Many patients have been able to reduce systemic medication, limiting adverse effects of treatment.
Up to 10% of stroke patients experience persistent hemispatial neglect, a lack of perception of space in one half of their visual field, despite their eyesight functioning properly. University of Glasgow researcher Dr. Monika Harvey has led the development of a vision rehabilitation method that was implemented by German stroke units (2011) and applied to over 60 stroke patients. In July 2011 Harvey formulated content for an advanced training module called `Vision after Stroke', a Scottish Government supported online training resource for stroke healthcare professionals provided by the Stroke Training and Awareness Resources (STARs) Project. In just eight months since launch (December 2012) the module series has had 17 473 unique visitors nationally and internationally with `Vision after Stroke' the second most popular module in Scotland. To date, 152 healthcare professionals have successfully completed the `Vision after Stroke' module certificate.
Impact: New business, intellectual property, employment and clinical diagnostic capability resulting from the invention, development, validation and manufacture of a peripheral vision-measuring device.
Significance: A new technology, Saccadic Vector Optokinetic Perimetry (SVOP) has been developed and commercialised. SVOP enables the testing of visual fields in patients who previously could not be tested. A spin-out company, i2eye Diagnostics Ltd., raised £900K to commercialise the technology, employs five people and has made sales internationally.
Beneficiaries: Commerce; ophthalmologists, opticians and optometrists; previously untestable patients.
Attribution: UoE team comprising Professor Bob Minns, Professor Brian Fleck, Dr Ian Murray and Dr Harry Brash are inventors on the granted patent for SVOP. The UoE BioQuarter commercialisation team formed the spin-out company and recruited the management team.
Reach: Worldwide: SVOP instruments are now in use in the US, EU and Australia. The technology is suitable for the 30% of patients worldwide whose visual field could previously not be measured.
Dizziness is a common presenting symptom in general practice, neurology, ENT and old age medicine. Chronic dizziness in particular has a major impact on the individual and health service resources. Imperial College researchers have shown that the best treatment, from primary to tertiary care, is balance rehabilitation. Imperial researchers have provided the scientific basis for understanding a common form of chronic dizziness triggered by visual movement, which we labelled and is now known as "visual vertigo". We have developed an effective desensitization treatment program for this condition which is acknowledged in a Department of Health (DoH) "Good practice guide" document in 2009. The new desensitization treatment has now been adopted by rehabilitation professionals worldwide.
Dizziness is one of the most common presenting symptoms in General Practice, Ear Nose and Throat and neurology clinics. Chronic dizziness in particular has a major impact on individual and health service resources. Researchers at King's College London (KCL) have developed an effective exercise-based rehabilitation programme incorporating optokinetic stimulation to treat a specific form of chronic dizziness, visual vertigo. This programme has been adopted by audiology and physiotherapy services across the UK and is now being adopted internationally and commercialized. The work of KCL researchers is also reflected by inclusion in information and continued educational activities with regard to visual vertigo.
Glaucoma affects around 2% of people over 40 years of age and almost 10% of those over 75. There are more than one million glaucoma-related outpatient visits to hospital eye services annually. Once lost through glaucoma, sight cannot be restored. Therefore early detection (mainly by optometrists) and appropriate management of the condition are crucial to maintaining a sighted lifetime. Uncertainty and variation exist in clinical practice and service delivery. Research undertaken by academic staff at City University London has led to:
In addition, City research on the scope of therapeutic practice by optometrists and the development of clinical management guidelines (CMGs) strongly influenced the decision to extend independent prescribing to optometrists. CMGs developed at City were incorporated into the Map of Medicine and other national ophthalmology primary care pathways. Research on a repeat-measurement-enhanced glaucoma scheme generated a National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) Case Study and informed Joint College Commissioning Guidance on Glaucoma and Local Optical Committee Support Unit (LOCSU) schemes. City's Standardised Patient research, where actors play the role of patients to collect evidence on actual clinical practice, is unique in optometric research and has been referred to by experts and relied upon in the defence of optometrists' actions in several clinico-legal cases before the General Optical Council.
Research conducted at UCL/UCLH over the last 20 years has enabled the identification of adults with acute leukaemia who are most likely to benefit from the use of stem cell transplantation, i.e. those with acute leukaemia in first remission. The treatment is highly intensive, potentially toxic and expensive high-dose chemotherapy followed by haemopoietic stem cell transplantation, and is inappropriate for some patients. The work has made a major contribution to the development of guidelines worldwide for the treatment of this disease. Improved patient selection for transplantation results in improved survival, less toxicity with improved overall quality of life, and a more appropriate use of NHS resources.