PROJECT 11
Functional assessment in advanced glaucoma
Why?
Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disease of the optic nerve and the most common cause of irreversible blindness. Visual function of glaucoma patients can be tested reliably in early but not in advanced disease; visual function of patients reported to be blind by the current gold standard diagnostic technique (standard automated perimetry) ranges from barely light perception to useful vision for the majority of everyday tasks. The aim of the project is to enable quantification of visual function in those reported blind by standard automated perimetry.
How?
Applied techniques involve psychophysics using modifications of existing perimetry techniques and novel approaches. This should result in a prototype novel device or a protocol describing the modified use of existing devices to quantify visual function in advanced glaucoma, on a single monotonic scale.
What can you expect?
You will gain extensive experience and expert insight into, among others, clinical ophthalmic assessment including perimetry and OCT, glaucoma care, basic and complex psychophysics, clinical electrophysiology, and assessment of daily-life functioning. You will be part of a vibrant, interdisciplinary research team and you will benefit from the wide academic exchange in national and international scientific networks.
Where?
The candidate will be located (1) in the Department of Ophthalmology of the UMCG of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands (PI: Jansonius) and (2) the Section for Clinical and Experimental Sensory Physiology of the Department of Ophthalmology of the Otto-von-Guericke University of Magdeburg, Germany (PI: Hoffmann), which both have a strong focus on glaucoma and the investigation of structure and function in eye diseases.
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with a strong interest in physiology, especially of the visual system, clinical care, physics, mathematics, and programming.
References
- Bierings RA, de Boer MH, Jansonius NM. Visual performance as a function of luminance in glaucoma: the de Vries-Rose, Weber’s, and Ferry-Porter’s law. Investigative ophthalmology & visual science. 2018 Jul 2;59(8):3416-23. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.17-22497
- Grillini A, Ombelet D, Soans RS, Cornelissen FW. Towards using the spatio-temporal properties of eye movements to classify visual field defects. InProceedings of the 2018 ACM Symposium on Eye Tracking Research & Applications 2018 Jun 14 (pp. 1-5). https://doi.org/10.1145/3204493.3204590
- Joao CA, Scanferla L, Jansonius NM. Retinal Contrast Gain Control and Temporal Modulation Sensitivity Across the Visual Field in Glaucoma at Photopic and Mesopic Light Conditions. Investigative ophthalmology & visual science. 2019 Oct 1;60(13):4270-6. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.19-27123
- Junoy Montolio FG, Wesselink C, Jansonius NM. Persistence, spatial distribution and implications for progression detection of blind parts of the visual field in glaucoma: a clinical cohort study. PLoS ONE. 2012;e41211. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0041211
- Müller F, Al-Nosairy KO, Kramer FH, Meltendorf C, Djouoma N, Thieme H, Hoffmann MB, Hoffmann F. Rapid Campimetry—A Novel Screening Method for Glaucoma Diagnosis. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2022 Apr 12;11(8):2156. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11082156