Volunteers wanted

Researchers at the University of Bradford are asking practitioners to help find volunteers for an amblyopia study.

A team led by Dr Brendan Barrett, director of the Vision Science Research Group at the University, wants patients to have their eyes examined using an optical coherence tomographer.

Dr Barrett said: 'Treatment usually consists of wearing glasses and putting a patch over the good eye, but this only succeeds in around two-thirds of cases. We're interested in finding out why it doesn't work in the remaining cases. We think this new equipment might provide the answer.'

He added: 'If the research proves successful we should be able to tell in advance who will benefit most from treatment and, as a result, we may be able to spare some children from the trauma of wearing an eye patch for long periods when there is no visual benefit.'