Research

Are you an optometrist or dispensing optician accredited to provide the Easy Eyecare Pathway?

If yes, we would like to hear your thoughts and any experiences of delivering the service for autistic people.

Autistic adults can face a variety of challenges when accessing standard eye examinations. Researchers at The University of Manchester are investigating if the Easy Eyecare Pathway facilitates more accessible eyecare for autistic people.

To take part, you need to be an optometrist or dispensing optician accredited to deliver the Easy Eyecare Pathway. You will be invited to an online focus group to understand how prepared and supported you feel in seeing autistic patients as part of the pathway. The focus group will take about 1 hour and you will be reimbursed to for your time. We will do our best to accommodate a convenient date/time for you.

This study is being conducted by Dr Ketan Parmar, Dr Emma Gowen, Dr Sarah Rhodes and Dr Kathy Leadbitter (The University of Manchester), and Lisa Donaldson (SeeAbility).

For more information, please contact: ketan.parmar@manchester.ac.uk. This study has received approval from The University of Manchester’s Research Ethics Committee.

Foresight is inviting optometrists and optical care providers to partner with them in building the world’s most advanced retinal imaging (fundus and OCT) database to develop novel digital tools and techniques to enhance and expand the range of services that can be offered by optometry practices in the future.

Your contributions will help them build a secure, de-identified database of retinal imaging to enable research groups to develop:

• New clinical pathways to streamline referral triage and quality benchmarking.
• Longitudinal analysis of disease progression in real-world settings.
• AI tools to assist in early detection, staging, and classification of multiple diseases.

Foresight offer a compensation structure for partnering optometry practices.

If you would like us to send more information about this project and details on how to get involved, please contact us at researchteam@college-optometrists.org.

PES’s research page includes a collection of articles, papers, and reports that may be of interest to LOCs.

i-SIGHT 2 is a clinical research study for patients who have intermediate or advanced Dry AMD.

The study aims to measure visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and physiological changes in the ellipsoid zone, investigating a non-invasive micro-current stimulation therapy for patients experiencing visual acuity loss due to drusen formation.

i-SIGHT 2 is currently open for recruitment, with enrolment expected to close at the end of May 2027. The study may be relevant for patients who meet the following initial criteria:

• Aged 60 years or over
  • Intermediate or advanced dry AMD
  • Visual acuity between 6/12 and 6/60 in at least one eye
  • At least one large drusen (> 125 microns)
  • No diabetic retinopathy
  • No current smoking or heavy smoking history
  • No wet AMD in the potential study eye.

Current UK trial centres can be found below.

Belfast City Hospital / Queen’s University Belfast
Contact: Dr Raymond Beirne
Email: Raymond.Beirne@belfasttrust.hscni.net
Clinical Optometry Team: nicrfoptoms@qub.ac.uk

Sunderland Eye Infirmary
Refer to Research Nurses Team
Email: stsft.seiresearchnurses@nhs.net

King’s College Hospital, London
Research Coordinator: Nikki Timson
Email: noimottimson@nhs.net
Telephone: 0203 299 7791

Central Middlesex Hospital, London
Research Coordinator: Sandali Nammuni Arachchge
Email: snammuniarachchge@nhs.net
Telephone: 0208 453 2077

The correct referral pathway is through the patient’s optometrist. Patients should not contact the study recruitment team directly. If an optometrist identifies a patient who may be suitable and the patient is interested in being considered, the optometrist can contact the relevant trial site using the above details.

Further information is available here.