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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.
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.
Research by Dr Alex Leff at the UCL Institute of Neurology in collaboration with UCL Multimedia, has led to the development of two free online therapies for stroke patients with visual deficits. Read-Right (launched June 2010) treats patients with hemianopic alexia (the commonest acquired reading disorder) and Eye-Search (launched September 2012) treats spatial disorientation and visual search impairment. The websites contain: 1) diagnostic tests, 2) therapy, and 3) interval tests. These materials have been developed from peer-reviewed research. The websites are also research tools; patients sign an online consent form and their data are used to test whether online therapy actually works. At 31 July 2013, 657 patients were using Read-Right and 217 Eye-Search.
Laser eye surgery is one of the most performed and successful types of surgery in the world. King's College London (KCL) researchers have been intimately involved in the development and improvement of techniques for both surgery and after-care to provide optimal results for the tens of millions of patients who undergo this type of treatment. KCL work is used by the world-penetrating companies Zeiss and Avedro to show evidence of the development of their latest techniques such as ReLEx and corneal cross-linking and by guidelines both in the UK (NICE) and abroad (the American Academy of Ophthalmology) to provide information on the long-term benefits and side-effects of laser eye surgery.
Findings of Westminster research on motion sickness have been used by professionals working outside academia. Work on motion sickness susceptibility led to development of a screening questionnaire that has been used by the European Space Agency as a diagnostic tool, and the US military in development and evaluation of motion sickness countermeasures. Research done at Westminster underpins both British Medical Association best-practice guidelines and Continuing Medical Education/Professional Development for medical practitioners around the world. Improved desensitisation procedures for vertigo symptoms have been adopted as standard treatment for vestibular disease patients.
King's College London (KCL) researchers contributed to the discovery that increased C fibre nerve activity in the bladder is a major cause of overactive bladder (OAB) syndrome. Based on this insight, KCL researcher Professor Dasgupta, a surgical urologist at Guy's Hospital, and his team pioneered a new surgical technique for micro-injecting Botulinum Toxin-A (BTX-A) directly into the bladder to suppress C fibres and improve bladder control. The KCL team then conducted the world's first successful clinical trials into the minimally invasive injection of BTX-A n OAB patients. These trials received significant international media coverage. This cost-effective OAB therapy is now licensed by the EU and FDA, is recommended in national and international guidelines, and has significantly improved the treatment of a common health problem.
Lower-limb amputation (LLA) is associated with significant mobility, quality-of-life (QoL) and socioeconomic burdens. Research undertaken at the University of Hull relates to the early rehabilitation of amputees and their risk of falling. The research has influenced practice nationally and internationally by prompting clinicians to use these evidence-based recommendations for muscle strengthening and balance training and has informed policy at national levels. It inspired the British Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Amputee Rehabilitation (BACPAR), to implement standardised recommendations in the BACPAR Toolbox of Outcome Measures in prosthetic rehabilitation. The findings of the Hull Early walking aid for rehabilitation of transtibial Amputees — Randomised controlled Trial (HEART) study, the first RCT comparing the biomechanics and clinical outcomes of early gait re-training with different Early Walking Aids (EWA), has made a significant impact on current healthcare practice and guidelines.