New software revealed to better detect glaucoma
Thursday, 06 Mar 2008 08:11
The new Motion Displacement Test should help doctors better detect glaucoma
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New computer software could soon be available to help doctors in both the developing and developed world to better detect glaucoma.
The Motion Displacement Test (MDT) from researchers at London's Moorfields Eye Hospital studies people's peripheral vision.
Its makers say the test should aid glaucoma detection, which can be problematic during a standard eye test.
Glaucoma is the most common form of preventable blindness. An estimated 67 million people have the condition but only half of this number are aware of the fact.
This rises to about 90 per cent in the developing world.
The MDT technology, revealed today to a group of MPs on the first World Glaucoma Day, is said to be effective, affordable and accessible.
It is run on a standard PC or laptop and its makers hope it will also be made available to download from the internet, enabling clinicians from all over the world, including those in developing countries, to use it as part of their glaucoma screening systems.
The MDT was produced by a collaboration of researchers at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS foundation trust, the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, and City University London.
Ted Garway-Heath, consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital, said: "The Moorfields MDT is a prime example of how universities and hospitals can work together to bring technological innovations to patients.
"This test will help us identify patients at greatest risk of glaucoma, provide better treatments for glaucoma and also monitoring for patients throughout the course of their disease."