Volunteers Needed For QUT Eye Study, Australia

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Also Included In: Clinical Trials / Drug Trials
Article Date: 24 Jun 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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A Queensland University of Technology researcher is calling for volunteers to take part in a project examining the role of childhood visual experience on eye growth. Stephen Vincent, a practising optometrist, is conducting the research as part of his PhD and will spend the next 12 months examining volunteers with specific eye conditions such as amblyopia (lazy eye) and strabismus (turned eye).

"We are particularly interested in people who have a significant visual problem in one eye only," Mr Vincent said. "Approximately one in 10 people have a substantial difference in optical power between their eyes. Directly comparing the good eye and the weak eye of one person is a useful experimental set up because it eliminates variables that may be present when examining different people. This allows a more efficient comparison between eyes which have developed quite differently."

Mr Vincent said he would be looking at what stimulates eye growth and leads to the development of refractive problems in the eye and the need for glasses.

"We hope to improve our understanding of how visual input regulates eye growth. This research may influence treatment options for refractive conditions in the future. There is definitely a knowledge gap in the literature, and this is something I became particularly interested in through clinical practice."

He said volunteers undergo a standard eye examination, and then additional tests to measure the length of the eye, the optical quality of the eye and the pressure within the eye.

"All tests are non contact, and simply require subjects to stare at a target inside each instrument," said Mr Vincent.

Source
Queensland University of Technology