Analysing visual field data in macular disease

Project Details

  • Vision is arguably our most important sense, and is used in almost every task of our waking lives. A critical contributor to vision is the macula – the central area of the retina approximately 18° in diameter. In addition to providing high-resolution and colour vision, the macula provides the primary visual information from which our brains decide where next we need to direct our fovea – a tiny area of vision located in the centre of the macula. Indeed this decision is the most common decision we make, occurring approximately three times every second and underpinning how we actually use our vision to perform our various tasks of daily life.

    Despite the importance of the macula, vision assessment in macular diseases such as Age Related Macular Degeneration is often restricted to measuring visual acuity alone – that is, the ability to read small letters on an eye chart, which assesses the performance of the fovea only. In this project we investigate how vision might be better assessed by using visual field testing (perimetry) to measure visual sensitivity across the entire macular area.

Collaborators

  • Dr Ruth Hogg - Centre for Vision & Vascular Science, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast