Vision matters
Date: Monday 5th October 2015
Time: 7pm
Venue: the Victorian Bar, Tron Theatre
Speaker: Anita Simmers
Amblyopia (lazy eye) is the most common cause of visual impairment within children and affects three to four out of every 100 people in the general population. Amblyopia is commonly caused by a misalignment in the eyes or one eye focusing better than the other creating a difference in image quality. This leads to abnormal development of the visual areas in the brain. If untreated, it can cause permanent sight problems. At present, the favoured method of treatment involves blocking the vision from one eye with an eye patch, the mean time under hospital care is 35 months (an average of 22 visits) with a patching duration of around 18 months. There are also associated problems with children being stigmatised, not being able to have full vision and non-compliance. We are developing innovative methods of treating amblyopia through using modern video gaming technology, which could lead to a fundamental shift in how the condition is presently treated in childhood. The computer-based therapies being developed could give amblyopia ssufferers an improved and more stable visual outcome with a binocular 'both eyes together' approach to treatment.
This talk is part of the National Eye Week.
More about the speaker:
Initially trained as an orthopist Anita gained insight into clinical practice before embarking on a scientific career. Anita is currently Professor in Vision Science within the Department of Life Sciences at Glasgow Caledonian University. She is an invited Fellow of the Biological Society, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers.