Principal Investigator:

Dr Ruth Hogg

Name of the Study:

VR_Glaucoma

Why is this Study important?: 

Perimetry is used to measure how well a patient sees in the periphery of their vision and is very important for deciding if glaucoma is progressing or not. Currently this has to be done using specialist equipment that is expensive and can be uncomfortable or difficult to access for some patients. Affordable next generation virtual reality (VR) technology has the potential to improve the cost, comfort and frequency of visual field monitoring for glaucoma patients.

What is the Research question/aim?: 

The purpose and design of the Study is the validation and evaluation of the new VR perimetry test in a clinical sample in Belfast.

What the Study involves: 

Visit 1 - Virtual reality headset and computer

             Optos and Heidelberg OCT (2 hours)

Visit 2 - Virtual reality headset and computer (2 hours) within one month of visit 1.

PPI Involvement: 

No PPI Involvement.

Who can take part in the Study?:

Thirty participants will be recruited from Professor Augusto Azuara-Blanco's glaucoma clinic. The patients will complete both the newly-developed test, and the current gold standard at two visits within one month of each other.

Contact Information:

Dr Ruth Hogg

Centre for Public Health

ICS A

Grosvenor Road

Belfast

BT12 6BA

Email: r.e.hogg@qub.ac.uk

Tel: 028 9097 1654