Measuring vision-specific quality of life
Loss of eyesight affects 500,000 Australians and costs the country nearly $10 billion a year in health and community support.
But while eye disease is the focus of considerable clinical research, the overall impact of the disease and treatment on the patient's quality of life is often a matter of conjecture.
The Flinders team is now leading world research to develop more effective ways of evaluating medical treatments from the patient's perspective.
The project is using new technology to develop an internet-based measurement system that is adaptable and far more accurate than current questionnaire programs. The aim is to make it valid for use across the English-speaking world.
PHD opportunities available under this study:
Optical quality and visual performance
As part of an ongoing study sponsored by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Flinders researchers are attempting to unravel the highly complex link between the optics of the eye and visual performance.
A major thrust of the work has been the development of optical quality metrics that can predict the visual performance of diseased eyes. The research has already contributed to the understanding of how eye disease and surgery can affect optical quality.
Predicting visual performance from optical quality could revolutionise clinical practice through rapid and accurate patient evaluation.
Clinical assessment of eye imaging devices
In recent years there has been a rapid increase in the number of devices available to image the anterior segment of the human eye. They often reach the marketplace without proper studies into their validity or reliability.
Professor Pesudovs and his team are now working with industry on clinical trials to determine the accuracy of particular devices when used on people with eye conditions.
Research team (from left to right): Ms Slavica Miskovich, Dr Jyoti Khadka and Prof Konrad Pesudovs
