mecImpactReport 2022 v1.7 lr pages - Flipbook - Page 12
Research
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Optometrists lead the way
Moorfields Eye Charity
funded a study looking at the
feasibility of and attitudes
towards optometrists
delivering SLT treatment for
glaucoma patients.
It gathered the views
of key stakeholders
including ophthalmologists,
optometrists and patients,
with their findings being
published and presented at
medical conferences. This
study supports delivery of SLT
by an optometrist, provided
it is within an NHS clinical
setting and the professional
receives suitable training.
The charity is proud to
support research which is
having widespread impact on
the treatment of glaucoma.
Due to the high number of optometrists involved, we’re in a perfect position to deliver
this service and care efficiently. With robust training protocols and governance - there is the
potential for a shift in service delivery.
Dr Evgenia Konstantakopoulou, Research optometrist, Moorfields Eye Hospital
Partnerships changing eye health
We’re involved with a growing
number of partnerships
including with the National
Institute for Health Research
(NIHR), Diabetes UK and Fight
for Sight and are seeing the
benefits of these collaborations
on Moorfields’ and UCL’s work,
on the broader eye health
sector and on the lives of
people with sight loss.
to invest in training and
development opportunities for
future leaders. We’ve awarded
the first joint NIHR Moorfields
Eye Charity Advanced
Fellowship to Dr Patrick Yu Wai
Man. He aims to improve the
way inherited diseases that
damage the optic nerve are
managed and how treatments
are evaluated.
We partner with the NIHR
Dr Yu Wai Man and colleagues
have already successfully
used gene therapy to replace
the defective gene that
causes Leber hereditary
optic neuropathy in patients
carrying a specific mutation.
Results so far show that those
who were treated within
one year of being affected
1 in 7 grants awarded by
AMRC members were funded
in collaboration with other
organisations [3]
experienced significant
improvement in their vision.
These results were published
in Science Translational
Medicine [4].
We’re also very pleased to be
funding research jointly with
Fight for Sight into inherited
retinal disease and co-funding
research with Diabetes UK
which aims to help guide future
management for patients with
diabetic retinopathy.