Southampton researchers trial new self-monitoring device to manage common eye condition

Researchers from the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre are trialling the use of a new, at-home iPod-like device to detect changes in a patient’s vision that could suggest the early development of age-related macular degeneration, known as AMD.

Professor Andrew Lotery, a University of Southampton eye expert from the BRC, is leading the Southampton-arm of this national study that requires patients to use a handheld device and an app to track their vision, then record their results. Participants will still receive normal care provisions in the hospital clinic, in the hope that at-home monitoring will detect the development of the disease early and trigger treatment.

Age related macular degeneration

AMD is a common eye condition that is the leading cause of vision loss among people ages 50 and older. It is a complex, inherited and diverse disease that damages the macula – a small spot near the centre of the retina – that is responsible to the detailed central vision and allows us to see objects straight ahead.

There are three stages of the condition – early, intermediate and late – but not everyone with early AMD will go on to develop late AMD. Currently, there is no way for doctors to tell who will develop the sight-threatening late stage of the disease, as some patients progress slowly or not at all, whilst others deteriorate at a rapid rate.

Spotting signs early on

Research has shown that treatment of the disease is far more successful when it is caught in its early stages. Participants will be recruited from current hospital clinics and will have already developed the disease in one eye. The study is aiming to detect deterioration in the second eye so treatment can be started at the earliest point.

Each participant will use the handheld device at home, much like an iPod, to play a game which requires a good level of vision. Taking the test weekly, the results are then recorded and compared to averages to spot any deterioration in vision.

Patients will still be seen in clinic to ensure that treatment of the disease is maintained but it is hoped that the at-home testing will reduce the need for frequent hospital visits.

“We currently treat about 1,000 patients a week in clinic for AMD. It is the most common cause of sight loss in the elderly in the Western world,” explained Professor Lotery, who is also a consultant ophthalmologist at the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.

“There are no negatives to this study. It is an additional monitoring aid that we can use to ensure that the best treatment is given to our patients. We hope that this will be a good way of monitoring vision and will be used on a broader scale in the future.”