Study of Technologies for the Diagnosis of Angle Closure glaucoma
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Study of Technologies for the Diagnosis of Angle Closure glaucoma
IRAS ID
315388
Contact name
Augusto Azuara-Blanco
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen's University Belfast
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN15115867
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Glaucoma is a chronic eye disease that damages the optic nerve. ‘Open angle glaucoma’ is the most common type of glaucoma. ‘Angle closure glaucoma’ causes 1 in 6 glaucomas but is more severe than open angle. Patients with suspected glaucoma or angle closure are identified by community optometrists, who refer them to hospital eye services. Diagnosing glaucoma and angle closure is challenging and many people referred do not actually turn out to have a problem. The current NHS NICE guidance requires that patients who are referred to hospital eye services with possible glaucoma should have a test called ‘gonioscopy’ to examine the angle to rule out angle closure. This test needs to be done by an expert clinician with a special contact lens that touches the front of the eye.
In the ACE study we will evaluate two different tests: (1) anterior-segment OCT, which is a sophisticated imaging technology that can be easily interpreted. This test is user friendly, easy to learn, fast, and provides consistent and high-resolution measurements of the angle structures. This device is widely available in NHS Trusts. (2) limbal anterior chamber depth test, that estimates indirectly if the angle is open or closed; it is simple and quick, and is done routinely by optometrists.
If one or both of the non-contact tests done by non-ophthalmologists are as accurate as gonioscopy, this would free up doctors time and NHS resources to treat more patients with eye diseases.
In our study, we will ask 600 people referred to 12 UK hospital eye services with suspected angle closure to have both tests. They will also be examined by an expert ophthalmologist, who will do gonioscopy unaware of the results of tests, so that we can find out how well the tests perform in an unbiased way.REC name
London - City & East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/LO/0885
Date of REC Opinion
5 Dec 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion