Eyes Close Up
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Eyes Close Up: How does the eye change when looking at something close-up?
IRAS ID
350201
Contact name
Annegret Dahlmann-Noor
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The Eyes Close Up Project aims to fill gaps in current knowledge about changes to key structures in the eye during near focus (accommodation) and whether the changes to these structures play a role in the development and progression of shortsightedness (myopia) in children. Myopia is a progressive condition which generally develops between the ages of 6 and 13 but now comes on earlier and progresses faster than previously. 1 in 20 people are now likely to reach pathological levels of myopia defined as a prescription greater than -6.00Ds which is associated with a 39% cumulative risk of irreversible sight loss. There is currently no licensed treatment for myopia on the NHS and available optical interventions are expensive, meaning that myopia creates a financial and socioeconomic burden on our healthcare systems and individuals.
We know that during progressive myopia the eyeball elongates and that is accompanied by changes in the structure of the eye (retina, choroid and sclera). However, it is not known whether sustained near focus plays a part in accelerating these changes, or how the available myopia treatments affect our near focussing ability.
We therefore wish to obtain measurements of the ciliary muscle, retinal, choroidal and scleral thickness in children aged 6-15 with typical refractive development, those with myopia (abnormal refractive development), and those using novel treatments which reduce myopia progression by targeting the near-focus mechanism (low-concentration atropine, peripheral-plus glasses and contact lenses); these measurements will be acquired from images taken with and without participants exerting accommodative effort.
Participants will undergo imaging of the eye’s structures on a commercial and bespoke OCT instrument with and without exerting near focus effort to see how the structures change. Moorfields will be the only clinical site, with research visits lasting between 1-2 hours.REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/NE/0167
Date of REC Opinion
1 Sep 2025
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion