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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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Our research into the epidemiology of childhood visual impairment has transformed understanding of the epidemiology, outcomes and impact of childhood visual impairment in the UK. As a result, changes have been made to the Newborn and Infant Physical Examination Programme and the National Vision Screening Programme. Our work has underpinned the development of new quality standards for paediatric ophthalmology services issued by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists. Our studies on congenital cataract have improved the management of this condition nationally. We have involved visually impaired service users and patient groups directly in our research to improve quality of life measures and patient engagement.
Treating stroke consumes 5% of the NHS budget. Government objectives for improving stroke rehabilitation have driven our important advances in aiding recovery of movement and independence. We have developed and evaluated innovative technologies and directly ensured translation into clinical practice and home use. Over 2,500 therapists have received training in functional electrical stimulation (FES) in the UK and abroad. Our research into FES and upper-limb robot therapy has attracted great media attention, as well as international clinical and commercial success. FES is now incorporated into National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Royal College of Physicians (RCP) Stroke Guidelines. We have demonstrated successful adoption of technologies in practice (the main UK commercial provider reports 16,000 sales of FES devices), and we have published evidence for their continued use.
John Martin's painting `Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum' was damaged and considered lost until advances in conservation made a restoration feasible. The question remained of how to fill the lost section without generating attentional distraction. Together with TATE Britain, Tim J. Smith used eyetracking to identify restoration procedures that directed gaze towards the remaining content and allowed full comprehension of the painting's subject matter. The restored painting is now on permanent display at TATE. This study is the first to apply eyetracking and vision science to art conservation, and has been received with great interest by the international conservation community.
Impact: Health and welfare; a large randomised controlled trial (third International Stroke Trial (IST)-3) and meta-analysis determined that the thrombolytic agent recombinant tissue plasminogen activator alteplase is a long-term effective treatment for acute ischaemic stroke in a wide range of patients.
Significance: Thrombolysis would result in 1488 more stroke patients being alive and independent per year in the UK.
Beneficiaries: Stroke patients, the NHS and healthcare delivery organisations, the UK economy.
Attribution: The IST-3 trial was led from UoE (Sandercock), with UoE (Wardlaw, Dennis) and University of Sydney (Lindley) colleagues.
Reach: Worldwide. Applicable to 4 million stroke patients per year; guidelines changed in Europe, N America, Asia, Australia.