It is going to be a very busy year for Dr Sarah Hosking. Work is nearing completion on the new Aston Academy of Life Sciences and, as managing director, Hosking is awaiting the opening with a degree of excitement, having led the planning and funding acquisition for several years.
'The Academy is a multidisciplinary centre that will be received as one of the major centres for clinical excellence and research in Europe,' she says. 'It will be registered with the National Care Standards Commission as an independent healthcare provider.'
From the outset, it is quite clear that, what has been viewed in some quarters as a refractive surgery centre is very much more than that. 'The revenue from the private healthcare provision will be able to fund an extensive research programme, some of it expanding on the work already going on in the vision science department, some of it new.' Certainly in the weeks and months ahead, readers will see the scope of the project being described throughout the national media.
Work in progress
The original model for the Academy was to provide ophthalmic services in a 'state of the art' facility and to use the revenue so generated to part fund research into various health and eye care projects. As one steps onto the building site, it becomes obvious that the skeleton of the building is now complete and there is clear division of the centre into particular specialities. It was quite amusing to see Hosking having to interrupt her description of how the Academy is to be used with occasional instructions to builders and technicians. In between describing the latest research in ocular bloodflow she had to break off to give her opinion on the suitability of a translucent glass walkway. There seemed little doubt that the proposed April opening is still on schedule.
Layout of the Academy
On the ground floor, behind the expansive main entrance and foyer area, will be the two main operating theatres. One of these is to be dedicated to refractive surgery and there will be at least three individual laser treatment stations within this large area. This will be known as the Life Sciences Laser Institute. Consultant surgeons will be employed on a visiting basis to provide a range of refractive surgical procedures to patients and there is already a waiting list building up for these services.
The second theatre is to specialise in cataract surgery and related microsurgical techniques (this is evident from the yet to be hooked up electrical points, above what will be the operating space, ready to set up the microscopic viewing equipment for the surgeons). It is likely that such a centre providing private cataract services within central Birmingham will prove very popular.
Near to these main rooms are eight individual anterior eye examination suites. As well as for pre- and postoperative care these will be used for a variety of anterior eye therapeutic purposes involving both optometrists and ophthalmologists.
Beyond the surgeon and patient rest and recovery rooms is a currently heavily guarded room where the MRI scanner is already in place. As expected for such a sensitive and expensive (more than £1.5m) piece of equipment, access to this area is severely restricted. An ante-room for patient viewing and monitoring allows a brief look at the instrument.
The Academy will be the first centre in Europe to offer MRI and MEG facilities. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has long been used for identifying lesions and areas of disturbed activity within the body, particularly the central nervous system. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) technology adds further by providing a non-invasive diagnostic imaging technique able to detect and monitor neurological activity over time. As well as providing an important specialist referral site for certain neurological diseases, the Aston MRI centre will allow continuation and expansion of the work already undertaken within the vision sciences department.
Aston has built a name for itself in the world of electrodiagnostics and is a referral and study centre for groups involved in epilepsy and related diseases. This work can only benefit from the new facility and the potential for further work in the ever-growing world of neuropsychology is exciting indeed.
The remaining clinical treatment area will house the Birmingham Children's Cochlear Implant Programme Centre, which will be a fully functioning part of the Birmingham Children's Hospital NHSTrust. As an audiology degree has now commenced at Aston, there is great potential for this resource for both patient treatment and research and teaching.
Membrane research
The second floor is much more biased to research work. As reported in our news section last week (News, March 5), significant funding is being negotiated for a major research programme looking at the structure of membrane proteins. The work, to be led by Dr Roslyn Bill, will be of great significance to those wishing to develop specific drugs and treatments. A better understanding of membranes will necessarily mean better design of drugs able to cross specific membrane areas. The Academy will head a group of research facilities across Europe which, with funding from the EU, may ultimately help further knowledge in this area and it is likely that pharmaceutical companies will wish to further expand this exciting area of research.
A wet laboratory next to the membrane research area will concentrate on corneal research, while next to this is an area devoted to looking at ocular bloodflow. This will be known as the Vascular and Vision Research Centre (VVRC). Ocular bloodflow was the subject of Hosking's original PhD, and much of the equipment in this area will be more familiar to optometrists.
The VVRC is one of the best equipped labs of its kind in the world. Key elements include the well-known Heidelberg instruments (HRT Flowmeter, HRT II and Scanning Laser Fluorescein and ICG angiography), the Zeiss OCT III, the Laser Doppler Flowmeter for investigating choroidal flow and the Siemens Colour Doppler ultrasound device to examine ocular structure and retinal, optic nerve and retrobulbar bloodflow. The research team has published widely on the vascular responses to stress (by gas breathing) in normal and glaucomatous eyes. This work has been pivotal in the understanding of neurotoxicity in epilepsy.
The Future
Certainly there will be much publicity around the grand opening of the centre, but the contribution the Academy will make to vision science should not be underestimated. Initially, the provision of private healthcare will generate useful income for the centre. This will help drive some of the research programme which, as already seen above, will then attract external funding in its own right.
There is likely to be a significant staff presence comprising many specialities. Many staff members including nurses, radiographers, optometrists and medics will be either appointed by the University or Academy or work as visiting fellows.
The scope for postgraduate and postdoctoral research is great and this will obviously also be reflected in the possible income from higher education funding.
Though very much an independent health resource, the planned research and treatment programmes can only benefit Aston University as a whole and the Neuroscience Research Institute in particular. Let us hope this centre marks a new step forward in establishing the UK at the forefront of international eye care research and treatment provision.
It is going to be a very busy year for Dr Sarah Hosking. Work is nearing completion on the new Aston Academy of Life Sciences and, as managing director, Hosking is awaiting the opening with a degree of excitement, having led the planning and funding acquisition for several years.
'The Academy is a multidisciplinary centre that will be received as one of the major centres for clinical excellence and research in Europe,' she says. 'It will be registered with the National Care Standards Commission as an independent healthcare provider.'
From the outset, it is quite clear that, what has been viewed in some quarters as a refractive surgery centre is very much more than that. 'The revenue from the private healthcare provision will be able to fund an extensive research programme, some of it expanding on the work already going on in the vision science department, some of it new.' Certainly in the weeks and months ahead, readers will see the scope of the project being described throughout the national media.
Work in progress
The original model for the Academy was to provide ophthalmic services in a 'state of the art' facility and to use the revenue so generated to part fund research into various health and eye care projects. As one steps onto the building site, it becomes obvious that the skeleton of the building is now complete and there is clear division of the centre into particular specialities. It was quite amusing to see Hosking having to interrupt her description of how the Academy is to be used with occasional instructions to builders and technicians. In between describing the latest research in ocular bloodflow she had to break off to give her opinion on the suitability of a translucent glass walkway. There seemed little doubt that the proposed April opening is still on schedule.
Layout of the Academy
On the ground floor, behind the expansive main entrance and foyer area, will be the two main operating theatres. One of these is to be dedicated to refractive surgery and there will be at least three individual laser treatment stations within this large area. This will be known as the Life Sciences Laser Institute. Consultant surgeons will be employed on a visiting basis to provide a range of refractive surgical procedures to patients and there is already a waiting list building up for these services.
The second theatre is to specialise in cataract surgery and related microsurgical techniques (this is evident from the yet to be hooked up electrical points, above what will be the operating space, ready to set up the microscopic viewing equipment for the surgeons). It is likely that such a centre providing private cataract services within central Birmingham will prove very popular.
Near to these main rooms are eight individual anterior eye examination suites. As well as for pre- and postoperative care these will be used for a variety of anterior eye therapeutic purposes involving both optometrists and ophthalmologists.
Beyond the surgeon and patient rest and recovery rooms is a currently heavily guarded room where the MRI scanner is already in place. As expected for such a sensitive and expensive (more than £1.5m) piece of equipment, access to this area is severely restricted. An ante-room for patient viewing and monitoring allows a brief look at the instrument.
The Academy will be the first centre in Europe to offer MRI and MEG facilities. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has long been used for identifying lesions and areas of disturbed activity within the body, particularly the central nervous system. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) technology adds further by providing a non-invasive diagnostic imaging technique able to detect and monitor neurological activity over time. As well as providing an important specialist referral site for certain neurological diseases, the Aston MRI centre will allow continuation and expansion of the work already undertaken within the vision sciences department.
Aston has built a name for itself in the world of electrodiagnostics and is a referral and study centre for groups involved in epilepsy and related diseases. This work can only benefit from the new facility and the potential for further work in the ever-growing world of neuropsychology is exciting indeed.
The remaining clinical treatment area will house the Birmingham Children's Cochlear Implant Programme Centre, which will be a fully functioning part of the Birmingham Children's Hospital NHSTrust. As an audiology degree has now commenced at Aston, there is great potential for this resource for both patient treatment and research and teaching.
Membrane research
The second floor is much more biased to research work. As reported in our news section last week (News, March 5), significant funding is being negotiated for a major research programme looking at the structure of membrane proteins. The work, to be led by Dr Roslyn Bill, will be of great significance to those wishing to develop specific drugs and treatments. A better understanding of membranes will necessarily mean better design of drugs able to cross specific membrane areas. The Academy will head a group of research facilities across Europe which, with funding from the EU, may ultimately help further knowledge in this area and it is likely that pharmaceutical companies will wish to further expand this exciting area of research.
A wet laboratory next to the membrane research area will concentrate on corneal research, while next to this is an area devoted to looking at ocular bloodflow. This will be known as the Vascular and Vision Research Centre (VVRC). Ocular bloodflow was the subject of Hosking's original PhD, and much of the equipment in this area will be more familiar to optometrists.
The VVRC is one of the best equipped labs of its kind in the world. Key elements include the well-known Heidelberg instruments (HRT Flowmeter, HRT II and Scanning Laser Fluorescein and ICG angiography), the Zeiss OCT III, the Laser Doppler Flowmeter for investigating choroidal flow and the Siemens Colour Doppler ultrasound device to examine ocular structure and retinal, optic nerve and retrobulbar bloodflow. The research team has published widely on the vascular responses to stress (by gas breathing) in normal and glaucomatous eyes. This work has been pivotal in the understanding of neurotoxicity in epilepsy.
The Future
Certainly there will be much publicity around the grand opening of the centre, but the contribution the Academy will make to vision science should not be underestimated. Initially, the provision of private healthcare will generate useful income for the centre. This will help drive some of the research programme which, as already seen above, will then attract external funding in its own right.
There is likely to be a significant staff presence comprising many specialities. Many staff members including nurses, radiographers, optometrists and medics will be either appointed by the University or Academy or work as visiting fellows.
The scope for postgraduate and postdoctoral research is great and this will obviously also be reflected in the possible income from higher education funding.
Though very much an independent health resource, the planned research and treatment programmes can only benefit Aston University as a whole and the Neuroscience Research Institute in particular. Let us hope this centre marks a new step forward in establishing the UK at the forefront of international eye care research and treatment provision.
It is going to be a very busy year for Dr Sarah Hosking. Work is nearing completion on the new Aston Academy of Life Sciences and, as managing director, Hosking is awaiting the opening with a degree of excitement, having led the planning and funding acquisition for several years.
'The Academy is a multidisciplinary centre that will be received as one of the major centres for clinical excellence and research in Europe,' she says. 'It will be registered with the National Care Standards Commission as an independent healthcare provider.'
From the outset, it is quite clear that, what has been viewed in some quarters as a refractive surgery centre is very much more than that. 'The revenue from the private healthcare provision will be able to fund an extensive research programme, some of it expanding on the work already going on in the vision science department, some of it new.' Certainly in the weeks and months ahead, readers will see the scope of the project being described throughout the national media.
Work in progress
The original model for the Academy was to provide ophthalmic services in a 'state of the art' facility and to use the revenue so generated to part fund research into various health and eye care projects. As one steps onto the building site, it becomes obvious that the skeleton of the building is now complete and there is clear division of the centre into particular specialities. It was quite amusing to see Hosking having to interrupt her description of how the Academy is to be used with occasional instructions to builders and technicians. In between describing the latest research in ocular bloodflow she had to break off to give her opinion on the suitability of a translucent glass walkway. There seemed little doubt that the proposed April opening is still on schedule.
Layout of the Academy
On the ground floor, behind the expansive main entrance and foyer area, will be the two main operating theatres. One of these is to be dedicated to refractive surgery and there will be at least three individual laser treatment stations within this large area. This will be known as the Life Sciences Laser Institute. Consultant surgeons will be employed on a visiting basis to provide a range of refractive surgical procedures to patients and there is already a waiting list building up for these services.
The second theatre is to specialise in cataract surgery and related microsurgical techniques (this is evident from the yet to be hooked up electrical points, above what will be the operating space, ready to set up the microscopic viewing equipment for the surgeons). It is likely that such a centre providing private cataract services within central Birmingham will prove very popular.
Near to these main rooms are eight individual anterior eye examination suites. As well as for pre- and postoperative care these will be used for a variety of anterior eye therapeutic purposes involving both optometrists and ophthalmologists.
Beyond the surgeon and patient rest and recovery rooms is a currently heavily guarded room where the MRI scanner is already in place. As expected for such a sensitive and expensive (more than £1.5m) piece of equipment, access to this area is severely restricted. An ante-room for patient viewing and monitoring allows a brief look at the instrument.
The Academy will be the first centre in Europe to offer MRI and MEG facilities. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has long been used for identifying lesions and areas of disturbed activity within the body, particularly the central nervous system. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) technology adds further by providing a non-invasive diagnostic imaging technique able to detect and monitor neurological activity over time. As well as providing an important specialist referral site for certain neurological diseases, the Aston MRI centre will allow continuation and expansion of the work already undertaken within the vision sciences department.
Aston has built a name for itself in the world of electrodiagnostics and is a referral and study centre for groups involved in epilepsy and related diseases. This work can only benefit from the new facility and the potential for further work in the ever-growing world of neuropsychology is exciting indeed.
The remaining clinical treatment area will house the Birmingham Children's Cochlear Implant Programme Centre, which will be a fully functioning part of the Birmingham Children's Hospital NHSTrust. As an audiology degree has now commenced at Aston, there is great potential for this resource for both patient treatment and research and teaching.
Membrane research
The second floor is much more biased to research work. As reported in our news section last week (News, March 5), significant funding is being negotiated for a major research programme looking at the structure of membrane proteins. The work, to be led by Dr Roslyn Bill, will be of great significance to those wishing to develop specific drugs and treatments. A better understanding of membranes will necessarily mean better design of drugs able to cross specific membrane areas. The Academy will head a group of research facilities across Europe which, with funding from the EU, may ultimately help further knowledge in this area and it is likely that pharmaceutical companies will wish to further expand this exciting area of research.
A wet laboratory next to the membrane research area will concentrate on corneal research, while next to this is an area devoted to looking at ocular bloodflow. This will be known as the Vascular and Vision Research Centre (VVRC). Ocular bloodflow was the subject of Hosking's original PhD, and much of the equipment in this area will be more familiar to optometrists.
The VVRC is one of the best equipped labs of its kind in the world. Key elements include the well-known Heidelberg instruments (HRT Flowmeter, HRT II and Scanning Laser Fluorescein and ICG angiography), the Zeiss OCT III, the Laser Doppler Flowmeter for investigating choroidal flow and the Siemens Colour Doppler ultrasound device to examine ocular structure and retinal, optic nerve and retrobulbar bloodflow. The research team has published widely on the vascular responses to stress (by gas breathing) in normal and glaucomatous eyes. This work has been pivotal in the understanding of neurotoxicity in epilepsy.
The Future
Certainly there will be much publicity around the grand opening of the centre, but the contribution the Academy will make to vision science should not be underestimated. Initially, the provision of private healthcare will generate useful income for the centre. This will help drive some of the research programme which, as already seen above, will then attract external funding in its own right.
There is likely to be a significant staff presence comprising many specialities. Many staff members including nurses, radiographers, optometrists and medics will be either appointed by the University or Academy or work as visiting fellows.
The scope for postgraduate and postdoctoral research is great and this will obviously also be reflected in the possible income from higher education funding.
Though very much an independent health resource, the planned research and treatment programmes can only benefit Aston University as a whole and the Neuroscience Research Institute in particular. Let us hope this centre marks a new step forward in establishing the UK at the forefront of international eye care research and treatment provision.
It is going to be a very busy year for Dr Sarah Hosking. Work is nearing completion on the new Aston Academy of Life Sciences and, as managing director, Hosking is awaiting the opening with a degree of excitement, having led the planning and funding acquisition for several years.
'The Academy is a multidisciplinary centre that will be received as one of the major centres for clinical excellence and research in Europe,' she says. 'It will be registered with the National Care Standards Commission as an independent healthcare provider.'
From the outset, it is quite clear that, what has been viewed in some quarters as a refractive surgery centre is very much more than that. 'The revenue from the private healthcare provision will be able to fund an extensive research programme, some of it expanding on the work already going on in the vision science department, some of it new.' Certainly in the weeks and months ahead, readers will see the scope of the project being described throughout the national media.
Work in progress
The original model for the Academy was to provide ophthalmic services in a 'state of the art' facility and to use the revenue so generated to part fund research into various health and eye care projects. As one steps onto the building site, it becomes obvious that the skeleton of the building is now complete and there is clear division of the centre into particular specialities. It was quite amusing to see Hosking having to interrupt her description of how the Academy is to be used with occasional instructions to builders and technicians. In between describing the latest research in ocular bloodflow she had to break off to give her opinion on the suitability of a translucent glass walkway. There seemed little doubt that the proposed April opening is still on schedule.
Layout of the Academy
On the ground floor, behind the expansive main entrance and foyer area, will be the two main operating theatres. One of these is to be dedicated to refractive surgery and there will be at least three individual laser treatment stations within this large area. This will be known as the Life Sciences Laser Institute. Consultant surgeons will be employed on a visiting basis to provide a range of refractive surgical procedures to patients and there is already a waiting list building up for these services.
The second theatre is to specialise in cataract surgery and related microsurgical techniques (this is evident from the yet to be hooked up electrical points, above what will be the operating space, ready to set up the microscopic viewing equipment for the surgeons). It is likely that such a centre providing private cataract services within central Birmingham will prove very popular.
Near to these main rooms are eight individual anterior eye examination suites. As well as for pre- and postoperative care these will be used for a variety of anterior eye therapeutic purposes involving both optometrists and ophthalmologists.
Beyond the surgeon and patient rest and recovery rooms is a currently heavily guarded room where the MRI scanner is already in place. As expected for such a sensitive and expensive (more than £1.5m) piece of equipment, access to this area is severely restricted. An ante-room for patient viewing and monitoring allows a brief look at the instrument.
The Academy will be the first centre in Europe to offer MRI and MEG facilities. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has long been used for identifying lesions and areas of disturbed activity within the body, particularly the central nervous system. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) technology adds further by providing a non-invasive diagnostic imaging technique able to detect and monitor neurological activity over time. As well as providing an important specialist referral site for certain neurological diseases, the Aston MRI centre will allow continuation and expansion of the work already undertaken within the vision sciences department.
Aston has built a name for itself in the world of electrodiagnostics and is a referral and study centre for groups involved in epilepsy and related diseases. This work can only benefit from the new facility and the potential for further work in the ever-growing world of neuropsychology is exciting indeed.
The remaining clinical treatment area will house the Birmingham Children's Cochlear Implant Programme Centre, which will be a fully functioning part of the Birmingham Children's Hospital NHSTrust. As an audiology degree has now commenced at Aston, there is great potential for this resource for both patient treatment and research and teaching.
Membrane research
The second floor is much more biased to research work. As reported in our news section last week (News, March 5), significant funding is being negotiated for a major research programme looking at the structure of membrane proteins. The work, to be led by Dr Roslyn Bill, will be of great significance to those wishing to develop specific drugs and treatments. A better understanding of membranes will necessarily mean better design of drugs able to cross specific membrane areas. The Academy will head a group of research facilities across Europe which, with funding from the EU, may ultimately help further knowledge in this area and it is likely that pharmaceutical companies will wish to further expand this exciting area of research.
A wet laboratory next to the membrane research area will concentrate on corneal research, while next to this is an area devoted to looking at ocular bloodflow. This will be known as the Vascular and Vision Research Centre (VVRC). Ocular bloodflow was the subject of Hosking's original PhD, and much of the equipment in this area will be more familiar to optometrists.
The VVRC is one of the best equipped labs of its kind in the world. Key elements include the well-known Heidelberg instruments (HRT Flowmeter, HRT II and Scanning Laser Fluorescein and ICG angiography), the Zeiss OCT III, the Laser Doppler Flowmeter for investigating choroidal flow and the Siemens Colour Doppler ultrasound device to examine ocular structure and retinal, optic nerve and retrobulbar bloodflow. The research team has published widely on the vascular responses to stress (by gas breathing) in normal and glaucomatous eyes. This work has been pivotal in the understanding of neurotoxicity in epilepsy.
The Future
Certainly there will be much publicity around the grand opening of the centre, but the contribution the Academy will make to vision science should not be underestimated. Initially, the provision of private healthcare will generate useful income for the centre. This will help drive some of the research programme which, as already seen above, will then attract external funding in its own right.
There is likely to be a significant staff presence comprising many specialities. Many staff members including nurses, radiographers, optometrists and medics will be either appointed by the University or Academy or work as visiting fellows.
The scope for postgraduate and postdoctoral research is great and this will obviously also be reflected in the possible income from higher education funding.
Though very much an independent health resource, the planned research and treatment programmes can only benefit Aston University as a whole and the Neuroscience Research Institute in particular. Let us hope this centre marks a new step forward in establishing the UK at the forefront of international eye care research and treatment provision.
It is going to be a very busy year for Dr Sarah Hosking. Work is nearing completion on the new Aston Academy of Life Sciences and, as managing director, Hosking is awaiting the opening with a degree of excitement, having led the planning and funding acquisition for several years.
'The Academy is a multidisciplinary centre that will be received as one of the major centres for clinical excellence and research in Europe,' she says. 'It will be registered with the National Care Standards Commission as an independent healthcare provider.'
From the outset, it is quite clear that, what has been viewed in some quarters as a refractive surgery centre is very much more than that. 'The revenue from the private healthcare provision will be able to fund an extensive research programme, some of it expanding on the work already going on in the vision science department, some of it new.' Certainly in the weeks and months ahead, readers will see the scope of the project being described throughout the national media.
Work in progress
The original model for the Academy was to provide ophthalmic services in a 'state of the art' facility and to use the revenue so generated to part fund research into various health and eye care projects. As one steps onto the building site, it becomes obvious that the skeleton of the building is now complete and there is clear division of the centre into particular specialities. It was quite amusing to see Hosking having to interrupt her description of how the Academy is to be used with occasional instructions to builders and technicians. In between describing the latest research in ocular bloodflow she had to break off to give her opinion on the suitability of a translucent glass walkway. There seemed little doubt that the proposed April opening is still on schedule.
Layout of the Academy
On the ground floor, behind the expansive main entrance and foyer area, will be the two main operating theatres. One of these is to be dedicated to refractive surgery and there will be at least three individual laser treatment stations within this large area. This will be known as the Life Sciences Laser Institute. Consultant surgeons will be employed on a visiting basis to provide a range of refractive surgical procedures to patients and there is already a waiting list building up for these services.
The second theatre is to specialise in cataract surgery and related microsurgical techniques (this is evident from the yet to be hooked up electrical points, above what will be the operating space, ready to set up the microscopic viewing equipment for the surgeons). It is likely that such a centre providing private cataract services within central Birmingham will prove very popular.
Near to these main rooms are eight individual anterior eye examination suites. As well as for pre- and postoperative care these will be used for a variety of anterior eye therapeutic purposes involving both optometrists and ophthalmologists.
Beyond the surgeon and patient rest and recovery rooms is a currently heavily guarded room where the MRI scanner is already in place. As expected for such a sensitive and expensive (more than £1.5m) piece of equipment, access to this area is severely restricted. An ante-room for patient viewing and monitoring allows a brief look at the instrument.
The Academy will be the first centre in Europe to offer MRI and MEG facilities. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has long been used for identifying lesions and areas of disturbed activity within the body, particularly the central nervous system. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) technology adds further by providing a non-invasive diagnostic imaging technique able to detect and monitor neurological activity over time. As well as providing an important specialist referral site for certain neurological diseases, the Aston MRI centre will allow continuation and expansion of the work already undertaken within the vision sciences department.
Aston has built a name for itself in the world of electrodiagnostics and is a referral and study centre for groups involved in epilepsy and related diseases. This work can only benefit from the new facility and the potential for further work in the ever-growing world of neuropsychology is exciting indeed.
The remaining clinical treatment area will house the Birmingham Children's Cochlear Implant Programme Centre, which will be a fully functioning part of the Birmingham Children's Hospital NHSTrust. As an audiology degree has now commenced at Aston, there is great potential for this resource for both patient treatment and research and teaching.
Membrane research
The second floor is much more biased to research work. As reported in our news section last week (News, March 5), significant funding is being negotiated for a major research programme looking at the structure of membrane proteins. The work, to be led by Dr Roslyn Bill, will be of great significance to those wishing to develop specific drugs and treatments. A better understanding of membranes will necessarily mean better design of drugs able to cross specific membrane areas. The Academy will head a group of research facilities across Europe which, with funding from the EU, may ultimately help further knowledge in this area and it is likely that pharmaceutical companies will wish to further expand this exciting area of research.
A wet laboratory next to the membrane research area will concentrate on corneal research, while next to this is an area devoted to looking at ocular bloodflow. This will be known as the Vascular and Vision Research Centre (VVRC). Ocular bloodflow was the subject of Hosking's original PhD, and much of the equipment in this area will be more familiar to optometrists.
The VVRC is one of the best equipped labs of its kind in the world. Key elements include the well-known Heidelberg instruments (HRT Flowmeter, HRT II and Scanning Laser Fluorescein and ICG angiography), the Zeiss OCT III, the Laser Doppler Flowmeter for investigating choroidal flow and the Siemens Colour Doppler ultrasound device to examine ocular structure and retinal, optic nerve and retrobulbar bloodflow. The research team has published widely on the vascular responses to stress (by gas breathing) in normal and glaucomatous eyes. This work has been pivotal in the understanding of neurotoxicity in epilepsy.
The Future
Certainly there will be much publicity around the grand opening of the centre, but the contribution the Academy will make to vision science should not be underestimated. Initially, the provision of private healthcare will generate useful income for the centre. This will help drive some of the research programme which, as already seen above, will then attract external funding in its own right.
There is likely to be a significant staff presence comprising many specialities. Many staff members including nurses, radiographers, optometrists and medics will be either appointed by the University or Academy or work as visiting fellows.
The scope for postgraduate and postdoctoral research is great and this will obviously also be reflected in the possible income from higher education funding.
Though very much an independent health resource, the planned research and treatment programmes can only benefit Aston University as a whole and the Neuroscience Research Institute in particular. Let us hope this centre marks a new step forward in establishing the UK at the forefront of international eye care research and treatment provision.
It is going to be a very busy year for Dr Sarah Hosking. Work is nearing completion on the new Aston Academy of Life Sciences and, as managing director, Hosking is awaiting the opening with a degree of excitement, having led the planning and funding acquisition for several years.
'The Academy is a multidisciplinary centre that will be received as one of the major centres for clinical excellence and research in Europe,' she says. 'It will be registered with the National Care Standards Commission as an independent healthcare provider.'
From the outset, it is quite clear that, what has been viewed in some quarters as a refractive surgery centre is very much more than that. 'The revenue from the private healthcare provision will be able to fund an extensive research programme, some of it expanding on the work already going on in the vision science department, some of it new.' Certainly in the weeks and months ahead, readers will see the scope of the project being described throughout the national media.
Work in progress
The original model for the Academy was to provide ophthalmic services in a 'state of the art' facility and to use the revenue so generated to part fund research into various health and eye care projects. As one steps onto the building site, it becomes obvious that the skeleton of the building is now complete and there is clear division of the centre into particular specialities. It was quite amusing to see Hosking having to interrupt her description of how the Academy is to be used with occasional instructions to builders and technicians. In between describing the latest research in ocular bloodflow she had to break off to give her opinion on the suitability of a translucent glass walkway. There seemed little doubt that the proposed April opening is still on schedule.
Layout of the Academy
On the ground floor, behind the expansive main entrance and foyer area, will be the two main operating theatres. One of these is to be dedicated to refractive surgery and there will be at least three individual laser treatment stations within this large area. This will be known as the Life Sciences Laser Institute. Consultant surgeons will be employed on a visiting basis to provide a range of refractive surgical procedures to patients and there is already a waiting list building up for these services.
The second theatre is to specialise in cataract surgery and related microsurgical techniques (this is evident from the yet to be hooked up electrical points, above what will be the operating space, ready to set up the microscopic viewing equipment for the surgeons). It is likely that such a centre providing private cataract services within central Birmingham will prove very popular.
Near to these main rooms are eight individual anterior eye examination suites. As well as for pre- and postoperative care these will be used for a variety of anterior eye therapeutic purposes involving both optometrists and ophthalmologists.
Beyond the surgeon and patient rest and recovery rooms is a currently heavily guarded room where the MRI scanner is already in place. As expected for such a sensitive and expensive (more than £1.5m) piece of equipment, access to this area is severely restricted. An ante-room for patient viewing and monitoring allows a brief look at the instrument.
The Academy will be the first centre in Europe to offer MRI and MEG facilities. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has long been used for identifying lesions and areas of disturbed activity within the body, particularly the central nervous system. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) technology adds further by providing a non-invasive diagnostic imaging technique able to detect and monitor neurological activity over time. As well as providing an important specialist referral site for certain neurological diseases, the Aston MRI centre will allow continuation and expansion of the work already undertaken within the vision sciences department.
Aston has built a name for itself in the world of electrodiagnostics and is a referral and study centre for groups involved in epilepsy and related diseases. This work can only benefit from the new facility and the potential for further work in the ever-growing world of neuropsychology is exciting indeed.
The remaining clinical treatment area will house the Birmingham Children's Cochlear Implant Programme Centre, which will be a fully functioning part of the Birmingham Children's Hospital NHSTrust. As an audiology degree has now commenced at Aston, there is great potential for this resource for both patient treatment and research and teaching.
Membrane research
The second floor is much more biased to research work. As reported in our news section last week (News, March 5), significant funding is being negotiated for a major research programme looking at the structure of membrane proteins. The work, to be led by Dr Roslyn Bill, will be of great significance to those wishing to develop specific drugs and treatments. A better understanding of membranes will necessarily mean better design of drugs able to cross specific membrane areas. The Academy will head a group of research facilities across Europe which, with funding from the EU, may ultimately help further knowledge in this area and it is likely that pharmaceutical companies will wish to further expand this exciting area of research.
A wet laboratory next to the membrane research area will concentrate on corneal research, while next to this is an area devoted to looking at ocular bloodflow. This will be known as the Vascular and Vision Research Centre (VVRC). Ocular bloodflow was the subject of Hosking's original PhD, and much of the equipment in this area will be more familiar to optometrists.
The VVRC is one of the best equipped labs of its kind in the world. Key elements include the well-known Heidelberg instruments (HRT Flowmeter, HRT II and Scanning Laser Fluorescein and ICG angiography), the Zeiss OCT III, the Laser Doppler Flowmeter for investigating choroidal flow and the Siemens Colour Doppler ultrasound device to examine ocular structure and retinal, optic nerve and retrobulbar bloodflow. The research team has published widely on the vascular responses to stress (by gas breathing) in normal and glaucomatous eyes. This work has been pivotal in the understanding of neurotoxicity in epilepsy.
The Future
Certainly there will be much publicity around the grand opening of the centre, but the contribution the Academy will make to vision science should not be underestimated. Initially, the provision of private healthcare will generate useful income for the centre. This will help drive some of the research programme which, as already seen above, will then attract external funding in its own right.
There is likely to be a significant staff presence comprising many specialities. Many staff members including nurses, radiographers, optometrists and medics will be either appointed by the University or Academy or work as visiting fellows.
The scope for postgraduate and postdoctoral research is great and this will obviously also be reflected in the possible income from higher education funding.
Though very much an independent health resource, the planned research and treatment programmes can only benefit Aston University as a whole and the Neuroscience Research Institute in particular. Let us hope this centre marks a new step forward in establishing the UK at the forefront of international eye care research and treatment provision.
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