Please help Asmaa with her research

Asmaa is a postgraduate research student at the University of Sheffield. She’d love you to take part in her current study. Here she is to introduce it:
 
“Hi, I’m Asmaa, an eye doctor from Egypt. Throughout my career, I’ve met a lot of people with low vision for whom we have minimal low vision clinical and support services. My passion to help them and start a low vision clinic at my University Hospitals in Egypt has led me to Sheffield to explore the available services for young people with low vision here in the UK, so that I can help my patients when I return home. Your experience with these services and your ideas for service improvement will help me a lot with my new service in Egypt.”
 
“If you are interested in sharing your experience in an online interview, and you are aged between 16 and 25, please contact me:
or just follow the link below to indicate your interest and I will email you our research study details. 
You can also read our study announcement below just in case you need more details.”

Your experience matters and would help us improve low vision services for children.If you are a vision-impaired person, aged between 16 and 25,
and have accessed UK- based eye clinic and low vision services as a child or young adult, we would like to invite you to take part in a research project.We want to understand the impact of paediatric low vision clinical services from your point of view. We would like to invite you to talk about your experiences in a Google Meet interview.  
The research team is based at the Division of Ophthalmology and Orthoptics, University of Sheffield.

For more details, contact Asmaa Elgohary

[email protected]

Or follow this link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-kz2UapQ_HsTbO8Vnk8Eycy3W_zY5ZsZlZBLsiCTtGA/edit

A poster promoting participation in the University of Sheffield interview research on paediatric services.

New low vision study calls for participants

Are you aged between 16 and 25?
Have you accessed UK-based eye clinic and low vision services as a child or young adult?
If so, a team at the University of Sheffield would like to invite you to take part in a research project.
They want to understand the impact of paediatric low vision clinical services from the patient’s point of
view. You can talk about your experiences in a Google Meet interview.
The research team is based at the Division of Ophthalmology and Orthoptics, University of Sheffield.

For more details, contact Asmaa Elgohary by email at [email protected]
or follow this link

Gemma wearing the CROM and a clinical face mask.

Nystagmus Network funds research equipment

At the end of 2021 the Nystagmus Network invited funding applications from UK nystagmus researchers to cover the cost of equipment needed to take their work forward. This week work has begun at the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hospital using newly funded equipment.

Orthoptist, Gemma Arblaster, from the University of Sheffield applied for a grant to purchase two different head position measuring devices. Her aim was to find a simple, accurate and clinically acceptable method of measuring head position and abnormal head postures in patients with nystagmus.

The Nystagmus Network was delighted to be able to fund the equipment, costing £549.25, thanks to the generosity of our supporters and fundraisers.

In patients with nystagmus head position is an important measurement, particularly during different tasks and different levels of visual demand. Currently in clinical practice Orthoptist or Ophthalmologist descriptions of head position and abnormal head postures are relied on. This method could be improved, and head position could be recorded and measured more accurately. 

The team at the University of Sheffield have been exploring methods of head position measurement, with an attempt to find a robust, but simple method of accurately measuring head position and head postures. Ideally this measurement would be simple to perform and non-invasive, but finding an accurate and remote method of measuring head position, suitable for clinical practice, has proved difficult. The gold standard Polhemus device was accurate, but impractical to use in a clinical setting. The depth camera (microsoft Kinect camera) was easier to use, but the data was less accurate than the Polhemus, particularly when less of the face was visible to the camera. The Kinect camera has also been commercially discontinued.

Gemma’s application was for two ‘low tech’ devices to measure head position to further both clinical and research interests in measuring head position and abnormal head postures in nystagmus. The cervical range of motion (CROM) is positioned on the head, but is considered accurate and fairly simple to use. The goniometer is an even simpler device that is placed near the head and does not need to be worn, however it can only measure in one plane at a time. Both devices offer potential to be used accurately to measure head position and abnormal head postures in patients with nystagmus, but further evidence is needed to explore their usability and support their accuracy.

Firstly, the devices will be used in the Orthoptic clinic at STH NHS FT to explore their ease of use and limitations in patients with nystagmus and abnormal head postures. Secondly, ethical approval will be gained for a research study comparing clinician descriptions of head position and abnormal head postures (current clinical practice) with measurements using the CROM and the goniometer in patients with nystagmus and abnormal head postures for other clinical reasons. The aim is to find out which method of measuring head position and abnormal head postures is the most simple and accurate in patients with nystagmus. This research will be published and the results disseminated. The plan is to apply for further funding to support research investigating and measuring head position and abnormal head posture measurement in nystagmus. This is particularly important for measuring the outcomes of interventions for nystagmus that are specifically targeted at improving head posture (such as surgery) and improving vision (such as medications).

Gemma currently has a clinical contract with STH NHS FT and a lecturer position at the University of Sheffield. This gives her a unique opportunity to undertake research in clinical populations and in student populations. The CROM and goniometer devices will be kept in the Orthoptic Department at STH NHS FT and used in patients with nystagmus for clinical and research purposes. Both devices will also be available to the University of Sheffield for undergraduate teaching and undergraduate research projects, which can only recruit participants from the volunteer student population.

This week, Gemma has begun work with the Nystagmus Network funded devices. She said:

“Thank you Nystagmus Network for funding our new head posture measuring equipment. I’m excited to start using it in the orthoptics clinic at Sheffield Hospital.”

A screenshot of the Nystagmus Network UK research workshop on zoom, showing thumbnail images of 20 delegates.

Nystagmus Network hosts UK research workshop

On Friday 2 October, the Nystagmus Network once again hosted the annual UK nystagmus research workshop.

This is an opportunity for researchers, clinicians and academics to get together to share their work and plan greater collaboration. They are, after all, all working towards the same goal. The workshop took place via zoom.

Nystagmus Network trustees and staff were delighted to be joined by nystagmus experts from

  • The School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University
  • The Ulverscroft Eye Unit, University of Leicester
  • Moorfields Eye Hospital, London
  • Royal Eye Infirmary, Plymouth
  • Academic Unit of Ophthalmology and Orthoptics, University of Sheffield
  • University of Southampton and Southampton General Hospital

Shining a light in a woman's eye during an eye exam.

Research participation opportunity

People with nystagmus are being invited to contribute to medical research by sharing their experiences of accessing a patient information pack, designed to support people living with the little known and complex eye condition.

The team at the University of Sheffield behind the Nystagmus Information Pack would like your help to review the pack and improve care and information services for nystagmus patients.

You can take part by completing an online questionnaire from the safety of your own home.

More details here.