Detecting Glaucoma with an iPad App

"Using a tablet screening app could prove to be an effective method to aid in the effort to reduce the incidence of avoidable blindness in populations at high-risk for glaucoma with limited access to health care, according to a study released today at AAO 2014, the 118th annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology," reports Medical News Today. "In this study, researchers from the University of Iowa, the University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Michigan and the Tilganga Eye Institute in Nepal used a free peripheral vision assessment app to screen approximately 200 patients in Nepal for glaucoma using an iPad. The results show promise for screening populations that have limited or no access to traditional eye care and certain ethnic groups that have a high risk of developing the disease." Read more.

Hope Found for Effective Treatment of Amblyopia

"A new discovery by a University of Maryland-led research team offers hope for treating 'lazy eye' and other serious visual problems that are usually permanent unless they are corrected in early childhood," according to Science Digest. "During the so-called "critical period" when a young child's brain is adapting very quickly to new experiences, the brain builds a powerful neural network connecting the stronger eye to the visual cortex. But the weaker eye gets less stimulation and develops fewer synapses, or points of connection between neurons. Over time the brain learns to ignore the weaker eye. Mild forms of amblyopia such as 'lazy eye' result in problems with depth perception. In the most severe form, deprivation amblyopia, a cataract blocks light and starves the eye of visual experiences, significantly altering synaptic development and seriously impairing vision." Read more.