Targeting At Risk Relatives Of Glaucoma Patients For Early Diagnosis And Treatment (TARRGET)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$595,375.00
Summary
Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in Australia but early detection and treatment can prevent blindness. We will recruit patients with advanced glaucoma from an Australia wide registry and refer their close relatives to have an eye exam and genetic testing to see if they are at risk of glaucoma. We will evaluate how a coordinator can improve the uptake of this screening program referring people to local eye care providers and in rural WA providing screening in 16 remote locations.
Evaluating A New Model Of Early Glaucoma Diagnosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,099,710.00
Summary
The provision of eyecare in Australia has significantly changed over the past decade. Major challenges have been created because of our ageing population with chronic ocular diseases (eg, glaucoma), expanded scope of practice including co-management options for glaucoma and dramatic expansion of technology associated with glaucoma diagnosis. Major questions have therefore arisen in relation to policy issues, service delivery and how research results are integrated with the overall aim being for ....The provision of eyecare in Australia has significantly changed over the past decade. Major challenges have been created because of our ageing population with chronic ocular diseases (eg, glaucoma), expanded scope of practice including co-management options for glaucoma and dramatic expansion of technology associated with glaucoma diagnosis. Major questions have therefore arisen in relation to policy issues, service delivery and how research results are integrated with the overall aim being for the early diagnosis of glaucoma.Read moreRead less
A Glint Or A Squint Should Make You Think! A Randomised, Controlled Study To Determine The Impact Of An Eye-health Awareness Program For New Parents
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$95,348.00
Summary
Retinoblastoma (RB) is a rare, blinding and sometimes fatal, childhood eye cancer. The earliest diagnosis affords the child the best prognosis for retaining their sight, eye or their life. This project will examine parents’ current understanding of the symptoms and signs for RB, identify barriers to early diagnosis of RB, and to develop, implement and evaluate a sustainable public health awareness program to potentially improve the timing of diagnosis and subsequent outcomes for this disease.
The vision we rely on every day to read and recognise faces depends upon the health of the central portion of our retina, the macula. Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in Australia and the western world. Researchers at the Australian National University are collaborating to bring a new test for AMD severity to the market within 3 years. The objective is to provide doctors with a rapid, cost-effective tool to help them manage treatment.
Improving Vision To Prevent Falls: A Randomized Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$403,892.00
Summary
More than 30% of older Australians fall over at least once a year. Poor eyesight, another very common problem among older Australians, increases the risk of falling. In fact, recent evidence from the Blue Mountains Eye Study suggests that poor vision is one of the strongest risk factors for falls and fractures yet identied. Our project is designed to assess whether improving vision will decrease the chance of falls and fractures. We will recruit 1200 people aged 75 years and over from among thos ....More than 30% of older Australians fall over at least once a year. Poor eyesight, another very common problem among older Australians, increases the risk of falling. In fact, recent evidence from the Blue Mountains Eye Study suggests that poor vision is one of the strongest risk factors for falls and fractures yet identied. Our project is designed to assess whether improving vision will decrease the chance of falls and fractures. We will recruit 1200 people aged 75 years and over from among those attending community-based aged care services in the inner western suburbs of Sydney. If they consent to participate, people will be randomly allocated to either an intervention or control group. Those in the intervention group will receive a simple, yet comprehensive, series of vision and eye tests. These tests will be done by an optometrist, either in subjects' homes or at the study centre. Our previous research suggests that nearly 50% of subjects will benefit from having new glasses and 10% might require cataract surgery. If necessary, treatment will be paid for from study funds. Some vision problems cannot be fixed. In these cases, an occupational therapist will arrange appropriate home modifications to improve vision-related function. Subjects will be followed-up for 12 months to assess the frequency of falls in the intervention and control groups. We hope to find a 33% reduction in falls in the intervention group. We will follow subjects for a further year to identify fractures.Read moreRead less
Novel Morphological Retinal Vascular Features As Early Biomarkers Of Vision-threatening Eye Diseases.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$107,169.00
Summary
Vision loss is not just a personal health burden, but a huge socio-economical burden. Management of major vision-threatening eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma will be improved if we can successfully identified persons at risk of developing the disease before clinical presentation to benefit from preventive treatment. My research aims to contribute to the prediction of these blinding diseases using advanced computer imaging analysis for simpl ....Vision loss is not just a personal health burden, but a huge socio-economical burden. Management of major vision-threatening eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma will be improved if we can successfully identified persons at risk of developing the disease before clinical presentation to benefit from preventive treatment. My research aims to contribute to the prediction of these blinding diseases using advanced computer imaging analysis for simple retinal photographs.Read moreRead less
Rapid, Cost-effective, Diagnosis And Monitoring Of Multiple Sclerosis By Novel Multifocal Evoked Potential Methods
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$152,463.00
Summary
A new technology for concurrently stimulating both eyes, and recording thousands of responses from the brain, will be tested for its effectiveness in diagnosing and tracking progression in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and the degree to which it complements Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Our understanding of MS has changed in recent years. It is now recognised to have two phases: an initial inflammatory phase, and a secondary progressive phase. The progressive phase produces the inexorable increas ....A new technology for concurrently stimulating both eyes, and recording thousands of responses from the brain, will be tested for its effectiveness in diagnosing and tracking progression in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and the degree to which it complements Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Our understanding of MS has changed in recent years. It is now recognised to have two phases: an initial inflammatory phase, and a secondary progressive phase. The progressive phase produces the inexorable increasing disability of MS. MS only affects about 0.04% of Australians but the early onset of MS, the high cost of medication, and the prolonged period of disability, mean that the cost to Australia is about $2 billion pa. MRI quantifies the inflammatory phase well but is poorly correlated with the debilitating secondary progression. The common treatments for MS target the inflammatory phase but not the causes of secondary progression, which are unknown. Current diagnostic methods mean diagnosis can take years, meaning that patients can be denied treatment for some time. The applicants have published experiments on 50 MS patients and 27 normal subjects using a variant of the new method. Not only has it shown high diagnostic accuracy, but the new method seems to provide data on the progressive phase, suggesting strongly that it is complementary to MRI. The new method is also much cheaper to set up and run than MRI and so could provide cost-effective means for monitoring patient condition and testing new drugs that are effective against the progressive phase. The applicants have considerable experience commercialising diagnostic technologies, and are currently working with an Australian company developing new diagnostic hardware. That hardware has been adapted to perform the presently proposed experiments. Overall it is reasonable to assume that positive outcomes will be translated into economic and health benefits for Australians.Read moreRead less
Developing A Scalable, Woman-centred Model For Cervical Cancer Screening In Vulnerable Women In India
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,330,369.00
Summary
Cervical cancer is a devastating but preventable disease and 1 in 5 cases of cervical cancer in the world occur in India. We will work with women, communities, and health services in two States of India (Tamil Nadu and Mizoram) to design a woman friendly approach to prevent cervical cancer. This project brings together international and Indian experts to overcome current barriers to cervical screening by using a newer, more effective way of screening to reach underserved women and save lives.
A Novel Multi-gene Marker Blood Test To Increase Community Participation In Colorectal Cancer Screening.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$581,116.00
Summary
Bowel cancer screening programs are vital for early detection and prevention, but participation with the traditional faecal testing mode is less than 35%. Reasons include dislike or unsuitability for faecal testing. These barriers could be overcome and participation could increase using a different sampling mode for the screening test. We have developed a blood test for bowel cancer and will investigate if people who will not screen with the stool test will screen with the blood test instead.