EVERonwards

EVER's main aims are to disseminate knowledge about eye research to an international audience. As well as poster and free paper presentations there are courses designed to educate and guide delegates in the world of research, which cover statistical analysis and advice on how to get your research published. A variety of social events was also organised.
The topics presented covered a wide range, from lens biochemistry to novel ophthalmic technologies.
Kazuyuki Sasaki (Japan) presented on age-related cataract in Asian and European populations. The lecture consisted of an overview of literature and the main topics of research in cataract development. The importance of a unified method of cataract grading was stressed, as many investigators currently apply their own grading system which makes it very difficult to compare studies.

Amblyopia
S Louden (Rotterdam) presented preliminary results of an electronic recording system of patching for amblyopia study. It found (so far) that they achieved a 72 per cent overall compliance rate, despite the fact that only 25 per cent of the parents felt that ambylopia was a serious condition.
Irene Gottlob (Leicester) presented new aspects of amblyopia treatment in which many varying patching protocols were compared from several European countries. The main points raised were that orthoptists in Germany treat amblyopia more aggressively than in the UK and that there is a linear response to patching hours per week in terms of increase in visual acuity. The conclusion drawn was that six hours daily occlusion was better than three. R Weir (Kent) presented a case and literature review of pupil dilatation caused by nebuliser or spacer-inhaled ipratropium bromide (an antimuscarinic bronchodilator used in chronic asthma) used in combination with salbutamol.

Low Vision
Susanne Trauzettel-Klosinski (TŸbingen) gave an overview of methods of rehabilitation in homonymous hemianopia, and concluded that compensatory methods are more successful than restitutional attempts (visual stimulation in the blind hemifield to restore and enlarge the field), but that the value of a training method has to be related to its relevance to everyday life. Regarding reading, it is crucial that two to five degrees of visual field is spared along the horizontal meridian in the hemianopic field.
Gary Rubin (London) presented a report on adaptation in reading strategies with central scotoma which found that the development of a stable peripheral retinal location (PRL) for fixation is a prerequisite for maximising reading potential.
M Leinonen (Finland) presented a clinical method of localising the PRL with a modified slit lamp which projects a variety of fixation targets onto the macula using a 90D lens. Once a stable PRL has been identified this can assist with developing a rehabilitation programme.
D Hartong (Netherlands) described the use of night vision goggles in people with night blindness. The study group of 20 retinitis pigmentosa patients demonstrated improved night time mobility, orientation and speed of walking, after a five-week training period.
A study on the effect of alcohol intake by Hiroshi Sasaki (Japan) revealed a decreased risk of nuclear cataract was associated with wine drinkers and a significantly higher association with red wine drinking within this group. However, no significant associations were found for any other types of cataract formation.

Glaucoma
G Saleh (London) presented an investigation in motion perception, which determined that both stationary and motion perception are reduced in early glaucoma.
However, there is a greater degree of reduction of motion perception, suggesting that the magnocellular pathway is preferentially damaged. The clinical implications of this were then addressed and it was suggested that this could have a clinical role in glaucoma detection analogous to the frequency doubling perimeter.
Giovanni Milano (Pavia) compared SITA, SWAP and FDT in normals, early glaucomatous patients and ocular hypertensives. It was found that all tests have a high specificity, but low sensitivity when compared to clinical judgement. There was also low agreement between the three exams.
New Technology
Marisa Rodriguez-Carmona (London) presented a new test for measurement of loss of contrast sensitivity (CS) using a colour vision-based system. The test is based on recognising a moving colour-defined stimulus within a luminance contrast noise background. The findings presented show it to be an efficient method of detecting and classifying CS loss.
Wilhelm Stork (Germany) presented preliminary results of a new tool for non-invasive IOP measurement, which has the potential to be both a desktop and a handheld system. It utilises non-contact acoustic stimulation of the eye, in conjunction with an interferometer, which detects the resonance frequency of the eye (which increases with increasing IOP). However, to achieve resonance within the eye, it requires a sound pressure of 182dB focused over a 4mm area, although it only takes 200-400ms so the resultant energy in the eye is still quite low. The tool is still very much at the design stage, and will require a lot more clinical testing to establish a good correlation of IOP to ocular resonance harmonics.
One of the most innovative presentations was that of a low cost, home-made lensless ophthalmoscope by Kulwinder Hundal (Oxford). This is a small attachment that fits onto a standard pen-torch and has only a simple mirror and a pinhole instead of a lens system, and costs less than £1 to make. The ophthalmoscope actually gives a very good quality view of the fundus, much to the surprise of most of the delegates who found themselves very impressed with such a simple and effective tool. The implications of such a cheap lensless ophthalmoscope can have a huge benefit for the developing world, and may also help to improve the ophthalmic training of medical students.
The conference was a thoroughly enjoyable and informative experience, and all delegates I spoke to were keen to attend next year's event in Portugal.

Richard Allen is a senior optometrist and research associate at Essex County Hospital