Novel Functional Testing For Early Diabetic Retinopathy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$447,578.00
Summary
About 7.5% of Australians have diabetes and 62% of them will have signs of damage to their eyes within 6 years of diagnosis. Diabetes is 2 to 3 times more common amongst Aboriginal Australians. A group of researchers at the Australian National University are collaborating to bring a new test for the severity of diabetic eye disease to the market within 3 years. The objective is to provide doctors with a rapid, cost-effective tool to help them recognize sight-threatening damage and to assist in t ....About 7.5% of Australians have diabetes and 62% of them will have signs of damage to their eyes within 6 years of diagnosis. Diabetes is 2 to 3 times more common amongst Aboriginal Australians. A group of researchers at the Australian National University are collaborating to bring a new test for the severity of diabetic eye disease to the market within 3 years. The objective is to provide doctors with a rapid, cost-effective tool to help them recognize sight-threatening damage and to assist in treatment.Read moreRead less
A Functional Predictive Test For Age-related Macular Degeneration
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$532,500.00
Summary
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in our community. It is a progressive, late onset disease affecting central vision. Signs of disease are present in 15% of the population over 50 years with severe visual loss affecting increasing numbers in each subsequent decade. By 90 years 25% of people will have lost significant vision. There is no prevention, and treatment options are limited and have little impact on the rates of blindness. AMD causes enormous person ....Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in our community. It is a progressive, late onset disease affecting central vision. Signs of disease are present in 15% of the population over 50 years with severe visual loss affecting increasing numbers in each subsequent decade. By 90 years 25% of people will have lost significant vision. There is no prevention, and treatment options are limited and have little impact on the rates of blindness. AMD causes enormous personal costs and places a massive burden on health resources. The high prevalence, anticipated increase in the ageing population and the limited treatment options, highlight the urgency with which research is required. The early clinical signs of AMD are yellow deposits called drusen, in the central retina (macula) and alteration in retinal pigmentation. As AMD progresses the macula is damaged either through atrophy (holes) or by growth of blood vessels. Currently, clinically accessible information about drusen and pigmentary changes are used to grade the severity of disease and predict the risk of progression to vision loss. This at risk group is recruited into prevention and intervention studies looking for new interventions. Such scoring of clinical characteristics currently underpins all clinical trials and epidemiological research in AMD. However this scheme is not without limitations, and results in an inexact correlation between clinical appearance and risk of blindness. We believe that a test of retinal function, (ability to see in the dark, to detect a faint light), will provide a better correlation for identifying patients at high risk of vision loss. We aim to test various aspects of retinal function (in both the light and dark and for moving and stationary objects) in subjects with early clinical signs of AMD, to identify parameters that will be more sensitive and specific predictors of risk of progression to visually devastating complications of AMD.Read moreRead less
Properties Of Human Photoreceptors Measured Using A Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope To Illuminate And Image The Retina
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$352,000.00
Summary
Vision begins with the detection of light by the rod and cone photoreceptors in the retina lining the interior of the eye. Although much is already known about the way that light is detected and the signals are processed, a great deal remains to be learned. Some of the outstanding questions could be answered using modifications to a relatively new instrument called a scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) which provides images of the interior of the eye. The aims of this project are to develop a mo ....Vision begins with the detection of light by the rod and cone photoreceptors in the retina lining the interior of the eye. Although much is already known about the way that light is detected and the signals are processed, a great deal remains to be learned. Some of the outstanding questions could be answered using modifications to a relatively new instrument called a scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) which provides images of the interior of the eye. The aims of this project are to develop a modified SLO, which is able to measure the levels of visual pigment (rhodopsin) in the living eye, which is also able to deliver visual stimuli to the eye, and which finally is extended to use adaptive optics so that it can image and excite individual cone photoreceptors. Using this device, we will be able to measure the regeneration of visual pigment following exposures to intense illumination, to help explain the slow recovery of visual sensitivity after intense light. We will also be able to measure the electroretinogram (ERG) from localized retinal areas, to investigate how the properties of the photoreceptor cells vary across the retina. And finally we will be able not only to visualize the individual tiny cone photoreceptors, but also to stimulate them selectively, so that we can determine the responses of the different classes of cone (red-, green-, and blue-sensitive cones) in the living human eye.Read moreRead less
Neural Circuits For Active Vision In The Primate Cerebral Cortex
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$632,938.00
Summary
This project will try to understand how we use visual information to identify objects by their shape and motion, in natural situations in which the eyes are moving all the time. This will be accomplished by recording the electrical activity of brain cells while a trained animal is performing different types of tasks, such as tracking a moving object or exploring a scene with its eyes.
VISUAL HALLUCINATIONS: MECHANISTIC BIOMARKERS AND NOVEL TREATMENTS
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$464,793.00
Summary
This proposal will address an urgent need to develop novel treatment strategies for hallucinations. A critical starting point in this endeavour is to look at the pathophysiology underlying hallucinations because these mechanisms represent the targets that can be modulated by treatment. This proposal will provide strong evidence for two biomarkers of hallucinations 1. Behavioural and 2. Neural.
A System For Measurement Of Vision-specific Quality Of Life Using Item Banking And Computer Adaptive Testing (ViSBank)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$831,155.00
Summary
When evaluating medical treatments, it is important to consider all effects from the patient’s perspective; their quality of life. This project utilises new technology to develop an adaptable, computerised, internet-based system to measure the effects of eye diseases and their treatments on patients’ quality of life. This system will provide for more accurate, precise and efficient measurement than existing methods.
Novel Approaches To Understanding Peripheral Vision In Patients With Central Vision Loss
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$367,101.00
Summary
The aim of my research is to develop novel interventions that enhance the peripheral vision of patients with central vision loss, and to investigate the neural correlates of visual perception in peripheral vision in typical adults. My research will inform rehabilitation strategies that optimise the visual function of patients with partial blindness, and provide a more thorough understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms that reduce the quality of peripheral vision.
Orientation-specific Contextual Modulation In Human Visual Cortex
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$290,413.00
Summary
Context has a strong infuence on our visual perception. We will study patterns of activity in the normal human brain to identify the cortical signature of contextual modulation in vision. The correspondences between patterns of brain activity and visual perception in the normal human brain will provide data against which brain activity in disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can be assessed.
The Role Of The Prefrontal Cortex In Working Memory For Visual Motion
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$359,796.00
Summary
As objects of interest may not always be in one's view, it is important to store information about their spatial locations for future reference. For example, you could reach for a beverage without taking your eyes from this application. While this may be effortless, such tasks are fundamentally complex, requiring spatial information to be coded, stored in memory and retrieved at appropriate times. This proposal examines how interactions between different brain areas allow this to happen.