Sonal Rughani, RNIB Eye Health Development Advisor, said:
"This is a really interesting research finding, especially as open angle glaucoma is one of the leading causes of sight loss in the UK and very difficult to detect in its early stages. This is an important step in understanding how open angle glaucoma develops in its early stages.
"Detecting and measuring these early changes to the blood vessels in the eye using a computer-based measurement could open up a new avenue for early detection of people most at risk of developing open angle glaucoma. In turn, early detection would allow more people to get treatment at an earlier stage for the best chance of protecting vision."
"Clearly more research needs to be done to fully understand how such a tool would be used in clinical practice, and how it will take into account blood pressure and other factors that can contribute to blood vessel changes. We will be watching how this technique develops and translates into ophthalmic practice to save the sight of more people at risk of glaucoma."
-END-
Media enquiries
Lucy Stanyer on 020 7391 3291 or 020 7391 2223. Out of hours 07968 482812.
Notes to editors
Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) or chronic glaucoma is the most common type of glaucoma. As a chronic condition its effects occur slowly over time. In POAG, the drainage of the aqueous fluid from the eye doesn't happen as well as it should and this causes the pressure to rise. The eye may seem perfectly normal and the person's eyesight will seem to be unchanged - because when the pressure starts to build up it doesn't cause you any pain - but their vision is still being damaged.
Peripheral vision, which is the vision we have around the edge of what we are looking directly at, gradually gets worse if you have POAG. As the side vision is not as sensitive as your reading vision the person may not notice any changes in their sight. The early loss of peripheral vision is usually in the shape of an arc a little above and/or below the centre of vision when the person looks "straight ahead". This blank area, if the glaucoma is untreated, spreads both outwards and inwards.
The centre of the visual field is affected last so that eventually it is like looking through a long tube - this is so-called "tunnel vision". If this rise in pressure and glaucoma is left untreated the person will gradually lose the ability to see things at the side and above and below where they are looking.