Dr Kong Yien Chin, a clinical scientist working in the Evoked Potentials Clinic at Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre, invited the Nystagmus Network’s Sue Ricketts to view the clinic, meet the team and discuss potential collaboration opportunities on nystagmus research projects.
Sue was very impressed by what she saw. The last time she had stepped inside such a clinic was some 25 years previously, when her baby daughter had undergone VER (visual evoked response) and ERG (electro-retinogram) testing to confirm her diagnosis of congenital idiopathic nystagmus.
Although the appearance of the test materials themselves may not have changed much over the years (Sue well remembers gazing at a flashing checkerboard image as she cradled her daughter), Head of Evoked Potentials, Professor Christopher Degg, explained that new techniques have been developed and refined over the years to increase the depth and precision of the analysis of the readings, providing different information about visual function relevant to patients, including those with nystagmus. The technology involved is firmly at the cutting edge of medical science.
Sue came away with an appreciation of how it can be beneficial for people affected by nystagmus to seek appropriate assessments for best possible understanding of their condition.
Dr Chin commented:”This meeting is an important milestone for the Nystagmus Network and the Evoked Potentials Service in Nottingham. We have the desire to play a significant role in future collaboration with the Nystagmus Network and alongside current and future research groups on potentially life-changing research that will particularly benefit those affected by nystagmus.”
