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• Blood cells offer new way to stop corneal damage

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  Blood cells offer new way to stop corneal damage

  In a world first, scientists at CERA have used tiny particles derived from blood to provide first-line treatment for corneal injuries.

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  Scientists at CERA have used tiny particles extracted from blood to deliver medicine to a cornea, opening the door for more effective management of corneal injuries.

  The research – which is the first time this technique has been used in a model of the eye – was led by Associate Professor Guei-Sheung (Rick) Liu and published in the journal Biomaterials.

  “We’re taking advantage of this natural system in the body to load in a drug to help heal damage from kinds of corneal injuries,” he says.

  Corneal injuries caused by events like trauma, chemical spills or burns require urgent treatment to save a person’s sight or limit damage so a corneal transplant can be successful.

  Anti-inflammatory drugs, such as steroids, are a critical first step to help reduce corneal damage and are typically delivered via an eye drop.

  However, Associate Professor Liu explains that conventional eye drops are not an ideal delivery system.

  “When you use an eye drop less than five percent of the medicine actually stays in the eye – the rest runs out – so it is not as effective as it could be,” he says.

  A more effective and efficient way of delivering the treatment could lead to more people recovering their sight, particularly in developing countries where corneal injuries are much more common.

  Associate Professor Liu and his team implemented a new method of delivering treatment using tiny particles taken from a person’s blood.

  

  Eye drops are a common way to deliver medication to the eye.

  Blood extraction

  Platelets are blood cells that play a critical role in healing wounds – they clump together to heal cuts and prevent bleeding.

  When healing wounds platelets release platelet-derived extracellular vesicles (PEVs) – tiny particles that help with this process.

  Associate Professor Liu and his team took these PEVs and loaded them with an anti-inflammatory drug – successfully using them to reduce inflammation in the injured cornea.

  “PEVs offer several important advantages over existing drug delivery methods,” says Associate Professor Liu.

  “They are very small particles that are easily absorbed into the cornea, they naturally occur in the body so won’t trigger the immune system, and because they come from blood they are very easy to source.

  “We also found that PEVs also help reduce inflammation and promote tissue repair a little just on their own, so they are beneficial in many ways.”

  Better treatments

  Associate Professor Liu says that while corneal injuries are a start, the team’s future research will look at more treatments that could potentially be delivered.

  This could include emerging treatments for other eye conditions like age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma

  He undertook this work in collaboration with a team from Taipei Medical University led by Professor Ching-Li Tseng, who will be coming to CERA to work with him for the next two years to continue the work.

  “The team is made up of biomaterial experts and bioengineers who will contribute a lot to what CERA can do in this area,” he says.

  Read the research

  Guei-Sheung Liu, Huai-An Chen, Che-Yi Chang, Yin-Ju Chen, Yu-Yi Wu, Ariel Widhibrata, Ya-Han Yang, Erh-Hsuan Hsieh, Liling Delila, I-Chan Lin, Thierry Burnouf, Ching-Li Tseng, Platelet-derived extracellular vesicle drug delivery system loaded with kaempferol for treating corneal neovascularization, Biomaterials Volume 319, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2025.123205

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  Precision medicine transforming treatment for corneal blindness

  CERA researchers have explored the potential of genetic analysis to transform how Fuchs’ endothelial dystrophy is diagnosed and treated, with the hope of improving future outcomes for patients.

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  Research shows gene therapy’s potential to replace eye injections

  Australian scientists have successfully used an innovative gene therapy technique in the lab to combat a key cause of vision loss in ‘wet’ age-related macular degeneration and diabetic eye disease.

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• Participants needed to measure impact of vision loss

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  Participants needed to measure impact of vision loss

  A CERA and University of Melbourne project is looking for volunteers to help understand the impact of vision loss to improve how the success of new therapies are measured.

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  A new method of understanding the impact of vision loss on a person’s life developed at CERA is now seeking volunteers to trial its accuracy.

  The Assessment Tool for Occupational performance and Mobility – Multisensory approach (ATOMM) has been created to capture how people with vision impairment complete daily tasks.

  The test has potential to be used as an assessment tool to measure how interventions could improve a person’s ability to perform common tasks.

  “Traditional vision assessments, such as reading letters on an eye chart, don’t necessarily reflect a person’s ability to function in everyday life,” says Lisa Lombardi, one of the tool’s developers.

  “Tasks such as crossing a street or making a cup of tea, require more than just visual acuity — they need a combination of tactile, auditory, and cognitive strategies.”

  New methods

  The ATOMM test has been specifically designed to be suitable for the Australian environment and focuses on not just if someone completes a task, but also how they complete it.

  The test is also performed in a person’s home and local environment, making the results more applicable to a specific person’s daily life.

  Lombardi says the test may play a role in detecting real-world changes in functional ability before and after medical interventions such as gene therapy, or orientation and mobility training.

  “For instance, if a patient who previously relied entirely on a cane or guide dog for navigation begins using residual or bionic vision after a treatment, this tool may capture that shift,” she said.

  The current trial is to assess the reliability of the tool and is recruiting people aged 18 years and over with a vision impairment caused by any eye condition that impacts their mobility.

  People are welcome to register their interest in being considered for research at CERA are Cerulea Clinical Trials, including upcoming trials for ATOMM.

  Register your interest

  This link will take you to the online registry for Cerulea Clinical trials – the home of investigator-initiated studies at CERA – where you can submit your details to be considered for participating in research.

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  Help shape vision research

  Consumer Program

  We work alongside people with lived experience to ensure their insights are at the heart of advancing eye research.

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  About Cerulea

  Cerulea Clinical Trials’ story

  Cerulea Clinical Trials is a state-of the-art clinical trial centre delivering stage 1-1V ophthalmic clinical trials and is the new home of clinical research at CERA.

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• Improving clinical trials from a consumer perspective

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  Improving clinical trials from a consumer perspective

  CERA’s Consumer Advisory Group member Dr Colleen Lewis shares how meeting consumers at their level left an impact on her at the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance conference.

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  Written by Dr Colleen Lewis – she hold a PhD in public policy and is a member of CERA’s Consumer Advisory Group. She has no central vision in one eye and has wet and dry macular in the other. She has been a participant in a clinical trial.

  I write this as a ‘consumer’ of eye research who has a strong desire to learn as much as possible about the research being conducted or planned by the dedicated, talented researchers who strive for years to find a cure for many diseases, including eye diseases that can rob people of their sight.

  In recent times, the ability of consumers to interact with researchers and contribute to research in a meaningful way has changed. Consumers are now becoming a key part of the research process, which includes ways of attracting people to participate in clinical trials.  To learn more about the research and to engage with other consumers of medical research, I attended the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance conference in Melbourne in December 2024.

  Consumers came from all over Australia and were not only people with eye diseases. We shared stories of our experiences with each other and with conference participants and attendees.

  Many aspects of health-related research were covered.  Several world-leading researchers in their field flew to Australia to present their research. Other presenters focused on the challenges faced when recruiting people into clinical trials. To a lesser degree the involvement of consumers and the role they can play in contributing to the knowledge base of researchers was addressed.

  I say lesser, as despite consumer involvement now being an essential component of those applying for research funding it appeared to be far down the priority list of several presenters.

  At this early stage of the new consumer-researcher relationship some sessions did involve consumers.  Often they were part of a panel rather than presenters in their own right. I believe that this will change and that future conferences will have greater involvement of consumers in the delivery of papers and one day they may even be invited to deliver a key note address at a clinical trials conference.

  I did learn a lot from attending the conference but believe I could have left better informed had several of the presenters not crafted their papers to solely inform other researchers. In some papers the language used was unfathomable for many consumers and this limited their ability to ask questions.

  Here is an example:  After a presentation from an eminent researcher, a consumer made an all-important comment on the content of the paper. In a respectfully worded but honest appraisal, the consumer explained that he hardly understood any of the presentation as the language used could only be understood by specialist researchers in the field.

  To his great credit the presenter readily acknowledged that he had used a plethora of technical terms the meaning of which would only be comprehended by other researchers in his discipline.  He went on to say that he could have delivered the same message using more words/phrases that would be more easily understood by consumers.

  As a consumer, I was delighted by his response and see it as a giant step forward in the fledging relationship between consumers and researchers.

  One consumer made a very poignant comment when he told researchers and the broader audience that consumers are more than their disease. He went on to point out that consumers can bring a great deal to the research process above and beyond just their medical condition.

  From my experience to date, that is something that the Centre for Eye Research Australia understands. It is part of the reason the organisation is involving consumers in their decision-making processes and communication strategies.

  As the conference was about clinical trials it also addressed the obvious need to attract more people into them. During these discussions, I found myself thinking, would I put my hand up to be part of a clinical trial if I didn’t understand what the committed researchers were trying to achieve and how they hoped to achieve it?  I kept on asking myself what more needs to happen for potential participants in a clinical trial to place trust in the process if they don’t understand what researchers are proposing? Would a researcher feel confident in being part of a medical-based trial outside their area of expertise if they were unsure of the potential impact of that trial on their health?

  These questions led me to look at a few websites that focus on trying to recruit participants into clinical trials. In some instances, I couldn’t understand the jargon and therefore would probably not volunteer.

  I understand that consumers can ask any questions they like of researchers before agreeing to be part of a clinical trial. It’s not clear whether all researchers appreciate that some consumers would be a little shy about displaying their lack of knowledge or admitting that they simply don’t understand what is being proposed? Engaging previous and on-going consumers in all future communication strategies will benefit researchers as much as it will consumers of the research. No one understands better the importance of clinical trials than the participants whose lives have been saved or the quality of their lives considerably enhanced by the brilliant researchers who devote their professional lives to finding a cure for debilitating, life altering health issues.

  Consumers at the clinical trials conference sent this and other important messages to all who attended. A theme running through all messages was that consumers want to help in any way they can. From talking to many of them I came away thinking that they understand that it is researchers who must determine the nature of the research and that the role of consumers is to assist, in any way possible, to bring about a successful outcome for both researchers and consumers.

  A key sentiment I took away from the consumers who attended the conference was that given the opportunity they have a lot to offer in attracting more people into clinical trials.  The key emotion that will drive greater involvement is trust. Who better to speak to the issue of trust than those who have trusted the researchers and the research protocols and hence have taken part in clinical trials?

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  Help shape vision research

  Consumer Program

  We work alongside people with lived experience to ensure their insights are at the heart of advancing eye research.

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  Our People

  Meet our Consumer Advisory Group

  Our Consumer Advisory Group members come from diverse backgrounds and bring a wide range of experiences related to eye health. Each member’s contribution is invaluable in helping CERA remain at the forefront of consumer-centred research.

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• Cycling across Gippsland on sight-saving mission

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  Cycling across Gippsland on sight-saving mission

  Associate Professor Guei-Sheung (Rick) Liu is donning the Lycra and joining cyclists and Victorian Lions Clubs in the 31st Lions Ride for Sight charity event across Gippsland from May 2 to 5.

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  CERA Head of Genetic Engineering Research Associate Professor Guei-Sheung (Rick) Liu is a man of many interests. When he’s not in the lab working to find better ways of treating eye disease, you might find him hitting the bitumen on his bike.

  “I enjoy cycling to work as it gives me fresh air at the beginning of the day and prepares me for challenging research work,” Associate Professor Liu says.

  Now, he’s combining his passions and gearing up for the Lions Right for Sight annual cycling charity event to help raise money for CERA’s research.

  “The Lions Right for Sight has long supported our mission to preserve sight, and I’m excited to take part and contribute in any way I can,” he says.

  Organised by the District 201V3 Lions Club, the Ride has been raising vital funds for CERA’s vision research for over 30 years – more than $1 million dollars at last count.

  Now, they’re busy preparing for the 31st Ride across Gippsland, from May 2 to 5, with the three-day event starting and ending Traralgon.

  This year, the organisers have set the ambitious goal of raising $90,000.

  “We’re very grateful to the Lions Districts 2013V3 and all the riders and support crew for their continued dedication to helping us advance our vital work,” says Associate Professor Liu.

  Associate Professor Liu and other CERA researchers will be appearing at the Ride’s headquarters in Traralgon throughout the three-day event. Please drop by to say hello and learn about the latest innovations in eye research from the experts themselves.

  The Lions Ride for Sight is raising funds to help our sight-saving mission. Support a rider by donating today.

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  Donate today

  Support the Ride for Sight

  Donate and support a rider in the 31st Lions Ride for Sight.

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  Research

  Progressing gene therapy

  Associate Professor Rick Liu is investigating the revolutionary potential of gene therapy for protecting vision.

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  Stories

  Mark engineers his 30th Ride for Sight

  Thirty years involved with a charity is a long road, but it’s one that Mark Sage was happy to build. The Cardinia Shire civil engineer is about to embark on his 30th consecutive Lions Ride for Sight.

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• CERA researchers awarded NHMRC Investigator Grants

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  CERA researchers awarded NHMRC Investigator Grants

  Two leading CERA researchers have received prestigious five-year fellowships to further their research aimed at earlier detection and treatment of age-related macular degeneration and cardiovascular disease.

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  CERA Deputy Director and Head of Macular Research Professor Robyn Guymer AM and CERA Head of Ophthalmic Epidemiology Research Associate Professor Lisa Zhouting Zhu have been awarded Investigator Grants by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) in their latest round of funding.

  Treating AMD early

  With her NHMRC Fellowship, Professor Guymer aims to advance research focused on detecting and treating age-related macular degeneration (AMD) – a leading cause of vision loss in Australians aged over 50.

  AMD affects the macular, the central part of the light sensing retina at the back of our eye, which eventually leads to a loss of central vision.

  As Head of Macular Research at CERA, Professor Guymer’s team has contributed groundbreaking work towards a deeper understanding of the disease progression in AMD and potential treatments aimed at slowing its progression.

  However, Professor Guymer says stopping AMD in its earliest stages remains the team’s ultimate goal.

  “The NHMRC Fellowship will not only enable us to further explore potential new treatments aimed at treating AMD early but will importantly also help us work towards a greater understanding of how we measure the success of these studies,” she says.

  The grant will also support the team as they work to further refine the visual function changes in those with AMD and how it changes as the disease progresses. This will help identify people who may benefit most from these emerging treatments.

  Professor Guymer will also work with her established collaborators to delve deeper into the underlying factors that may contribute to the development of AMD.

  “To stop AMD before it threatens sight, we need to understand exactly what causes it,” Professor Guymer says. “By figuring out these connections, we hope to find new targets for future treatments.”

  

  Scanning for clues: Associate Professor Lisa Zhuoting Zhu and Dr Wenyi Hu using AI and smart camera technologies.

  Predicting cardiovascular disease risk

  Associate Professor Zhu will use her Fellowship to further develop her team’s artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that assesses a person’s risk of cardiovascular disease through a simple scan of their retina.

  CVD is a leading cause of mortality in Australia, with around one in four people dying from the disease. Associate Professor Zhu says up to 80 per cent of cases could be prevented through early detection and management.

  “Thanks to the Fellowship, we can continue our work towards ensuring all Australians have access to an accessible, cost-effective, informative and personalised cardiovascular disease risk-assessment tool,” she says.

  Associate Professor Zhu says the retina provides a unique window to visualise cardiovascular health.

  “The retina’s tiny vessels are connected to our broader circulatory system and can show potential heart-related damage earlier than traditional diagnostic methods,’ she says.

  Associate Professor Zhu says unlike traditional cardiovascular disease testing methods, which often require multiple GP consultations and weeks of waiting for blood test results, this technology offers an immediate, non-invasive risk assessment.

  “It’s quick, cost-effective and user-friendly”, she says.

  The team will work to refine the AI algorithm with the aim of predicting future cardiovascular events with unprecedented accuracy.

  They also aim to provide more personalised insights into an individual’s cardiovascular disease risk factors.

  “We can visualise the most important contributors to a patient’s cardiovascular risk, forming the foundation for personalised and tailored management,” Associate Professor Zhu says.

  “For some, it might be glucose levels, for others smoking or blood pressure.”

  The team will also conduct a clinical study to track how early risk awareness of cardiovascular disease impacts patient behaviours, such as diet and lifestyle.

  Ultimately, Professor Zhu aims to implement the tool more widely across general practice.

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  News

  First treatment for geographic atrophy approved in Australia

  CERA’s Head of Macular Research Professor Robyn Guymer AM has welcomed the approval of the first treatment for geographic atrophy – an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration which affects about 100,000 Australians.

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  Research

  AI scan for diabetes has potential to save sight and money

  Modelling shows AI-powered screening for diabetic retinopathy has the potential to prevent blindness by increasing access to scans, protecting sight and reducing healthcare costs.

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  Research: Sleep apnoea associated with macular degeneration

  A Centre for Eye Research Australia study has linked low levels of oxygen in the blood overnight – a common sign of obstructive sleep apnoea – with wet age-related macular degeneration.

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• Could AI eye scans help doctors identify heart disease and stroke risk?

  Research

  Could AI eye scans help doctors identify heart disease and stroke risk?

  New research examines the benefits of using AI retinal imaging to screen for cardiovascular disease in GP clinics, and identifies areas for improvement.

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  A new study has for the first time tested the use of an artificial intelligence powered eye scan in general practice clinics to screen patients for cardiovascular disease.

  Results of the research, published in npj Digital Medicine, found that the fast, non-invasive AI retinal scan could be readily integrated into primary care settings to screen for risk of heart attacks and stroke.

  “The ease of use of the retinal camera and high acceptance by doctors and patients demonstrates that it could be integrated into clinic workflow to screen patients before appointments with their GP,” says the study’s first author Wenyi Hu.

  “However, more work needs to be done to improve accuracy in some groups of patients, particularly men over 60.”

  About the study

  Wenyi Hu conducted the research as part of her University of Melbourne PhD studies in CERA’s Ophthalmic Epidemiology team, along with colleagues including her supervisor Associate Professor Lisa Zhuoting Zhu.

  The research involved 361 people, aged 45-70, who were patients at two GP clinics and had been received a full or partial cardiovascular risk assessment – such as a blood pressure or cholesterol test – in the previous six months.

  Each patient had an eye scan taken with a desktop retinal camera, which scanned the blood vessels at the back of the eye, and received a real-time AI-generated report of their cardiovascular disease risk.

  They were also assessed using a widely utilised clinical risk tool – World Health Organization’s CVD risk chart – which considers age, sex, smoking status, blood pressure, diabetes and total cholesterol.

  The risks calculated from retinal images were then compared against the World Health Organization’s CVD risk chart to measure the correlation between the two methods.

  Both scoring approaches were then validated against more than 27,500 records from the UK Biobank, revealing that the retinal scan-based scores demonstrated similar accuracy to WHO CVD risk scores in predicting risk of heart attack or stroke over 10 years.

  The patients and eight GPs from the participating clinics were also surveyed on their satisfaction with the technology and likelihood to use it in the future.

  

  Investigating AI: Associate Professor Lisa Zhu and Wenyi Hu have investigated the use of an AI eye test in GP clinics.

  Study results

  The study found :

  • Moderate correlation between the accuracy of the retinal scan and the WHO risk scores – with 67.4 per cent of participant results matching, 17.1 per cent having their risk over-estimated by the retinal scan and 19.5 having their risk underestimated.
  • Similar ability between the retinal scan and WHO method to predict 10-year risk of coronary heart disease or stroke when compared to data from the UK Biobank
  • A 93.9 per cent imaging success rate, with the most patients receiving a retinal scan which could be graded for cardiovascular risk
  • 92.5 per cent of patients and 87.5 per cent of GPs were satisfied with the technology.

  General practitioner involvement

  Camberwell general practitioner Dr Malcolm Clark’s clinic took part in the research and is a co-author on the paper.

  He says retinal scanning has great potential to increase the number of Australians who are assessed for cardiovascular risks.

  Dr Clark says in the future retinal scanning could be used as an early triaging tool to alert GPs to patients who need further investigation or tests.

  “In the future I would see patients receiving an SMS, reminding them to have an eye scan which would send a report on their risk to their doctor who could then follow up with further tests if needed.

  “This could become part of regular health screenings like a cervical screening test or a faecal occult blood test.”

  A broader vision for clinical AI

  Associate Professor Zhu, says the integration of AI-based eye scans into general practice workflows marks a significant step toward precision public health.

  “We are building a future pathway that could offer low-cost, scalable and equitable cardiovascular screening for everyone, including those in remote and underserved communities,” she says.

  “AI-powered eye checks could also provide insights into brain and kidney health and part of routine preventative health care.”

  Read the study

  Wenyi Hu, Zhihong Lin, Malcolm Clark, Jacqueline Henwood, Xianwen Shang, Ruiye Chen, Katerina Kiburg, Lei Zhang, Zongyuan Ge, Peter van Wijngaarden, Zhuoting Zhu & Mingguang He Real-world feasibility, accuracy and acceptability of automated retinal photography and AI-based cardiovascular disease risk assessment in Australian primary care settings: a pragmatic trial npj Digital Medicine (2025)

  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-025-01436-1

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  Research

  AI scan for diabetes has potential to save sight and money

  Modelling shows AI-powered screening for diabetic retinopathy has the potential to prevent blindness by increasing access to scans, protecting sight and reducing healthcare costs.

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  Research

  Coffee and tea’s brain benefits

  New research has linked drinking coffee and tea to increased macular retinal nerve fibre layer thickness – which could be an indicator of our brain health.

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• A cycle of innovation

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  A cycle of innovation

  CERA Honorary Principal Investigator Peter Larsen transforms breakthroughs in the lab into better eye care for patients.

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  Impactful research requires as much work outside the lab as it does within—a principle that guides CERA Honorary Principal Investigator Peter Larsen. Motivated by the immense potential a laboratory breakthrough has to improve people’s lives, Larsen’s mission is to bridge the gap between discovery and real-world application.

  “Developing a drug, a device, or an algorithm is one thing,” he says. “But getting that breakthrough into the hands of patients to truly improve eye health is at the heart of CERA’s mission.”

  Over his career, Larsen has played a key role in organisations with far-reaching influence—from his leadership in bringing Specsavers to Australia, driving a data strategy at a leading eye care technology company Topcon, to his current endeavour of establishing Optometrist Warehouse within the Chemist Warehouse group. These experiences have shown him just how vital commercialisation can be in maximising the impact of scientific research.

  “For scientists in the lab, the commercial side can be unfamiliar,” he acknowledges. “But without it, new treatments often never reach the people who need them most.”

  Finding better ways to deliver these life-changing discoveries continues to drive Larsen’s work at CERA.

  

  Improving communications: Patients receive better care when communication between practitioners is easy.

  Powering Oculo

  Among Larsen’s notable achievements is the creation of Oculo—CERA’s first spinout company.
  It arose from a pressing need to improve communication across eye care.

  “We saw that optometrists and ophthalmologists weren’t communicating as effectively as they could,” he explains.

  “Referrals arrived in different formats—email, fax—and there was no centralised way to ensure consistent collaboration.”

  Recognising the difference streamlined communication could make for patients, Larsen and then CERA Managing Director Professor Jonathan Crowston took inspiration from the UK’s National Health Service. Together with Dr. Kate Taylor as CEO, they founded Oculo. From its spinout in 2015 until its sale in 2021, the platform was adopted by seven out of 10 eye care providers in Australia and New Zealand.

  By digitalising clinical communications across Specsavers’ national network with Oculo, Larsen was able to capture a vast repository of standardised patient data. This enabled the development of clinical benchmarks, improvement in referrals, and ensure more consistent care for patients across the board.

  Underpinning National Programs

  The data-driven insights and common infrastructure from Oculo laid the groundwork for significant healthcare breakthroughs.

  They supported the national KeepSight diabetes reminder program, ensuring that more people with diabetes received timely eye checks.

  Beyond that, insights enabled a global first approach to introducing OCT scanners into over 3.5 million annual eye examinations within Specsavers.

  Rather than simply driving professional fees, this initiative directly targeted a measurable gap in glaucoma diagnostic rates.

  By integrating OCT scanning into routine eye tests, Larsen and his team sought to significantly reduce false-positive referrals and address the troubling reality that half of all glaucoma cases remain undiagnosed.

  Boosting Outcomes

  In 2021, Oculo was sold to Finnish company Revenio, and the proceeds provided a significant boost to CERA’s Innovation Fund—an internal, competitive fund designed to give researchers the early financial support they need to propel promising ideas beyond the concept stage.

  For Larsen, helping other scientists navigate the transition from the lab to the marketplace is deeply gratifying: “Having seen the enormous potential of research to transform lives, I’m thrilled to assist in funding future breakthroughs—and to guide researchers along the commercial path so their work can make a tangible difference.”

  By continuously investing in research and refining pathways to commercialisation, Larsen believes the eye health sector can keep evolving for the better.

  “If we maintain this cycle of innovation—discovery, commercialisation, and reinvestment—we can truly make a difference in people’s lives.”

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  Research

  OCT scans in optometry could boost glaucoma detection

  A study of one million patient records shows routine use of OCT scanners in optometry could boost glaucoma detection and reduce undiagnosed cases in the community.

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  News

  Sale of Oculo, CERA’s first spin-out company

  Oculo, the first spin-out company to be incubated at the Centre for Eye Research Australia, has been sold to Finnish ophthalmic diagnostics company Revenio.

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• Implant’s journey from idea to clinic

  Research

  Implant’s journey from idea to clinic

  After starting as an idea on a whiteboard in Melbourne, the VividFlo glaucoma implant is now part of a landmark local clinical trial.

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  An innovative solution to protect the sight of people with moderate to severe glaucoma, designed by Melbourne company VividWhite, is now part of a large Australian clinical trial to determine its effectiveness and safety.

  The VividFlo implant, designed by CERA Principal Investigator of Glaucoma Surgical Research Professor Michael Coote, represents a whole new way of managing glaucoma and a step towards improving how vision might be protected in the future.

  “It has been incredibly rewarding to take this from an idea to a clinical trial, especially one that is so close to home,” says Professor Coote.

  Managing options

  For people whose glaucoma cannot be controlled through eye drops, surgery to reduce the pressure of fluid in their eye can become a necessary step to protect their sight.

  There are several options to do this, from using a laser to improve the eye’s natural drainage pathways to using surgery to create additional paths for fluid to drain, but they are not effective for everyone.

  Professor Coote’s work to find a new way started in 2010 when he pioneered a research project to better understand how fluid can leave the eye.

  Seven years later, he founded VividWhite with experienced medtech executive Andrew Batty. VividWhite set about developing a device to meet a set of specific requirements and created the first prototypes for the VividFlo implant.

  The implant is designed to create an additional channel in the eye through which fluid can drain to reduce pressure, and then disperse it gently through a series of over 150 exit channels spread out over the back of the eye.

  This innovative design incorporates micro fluidics and nanofabrication to release fluid in a controlled and consistent fashion to protect the rest of the eye and potentially improve how glaucoma is managed long term.

  Following the successful feasibility study in 2022, private investment and $1 million in funding from MTP Connect – the Australian Government’s Life Sciences Innovation Accelerator – the device is now part of a large, multi-centre study.

  The trial is currently underway at both CERA’s Cerulea Clinical Trials and several other sites across the country.

  

  Breakthrough device: The VividFlo implant has been designed as a new option in glaucoma treatment.

  Local benefit

  CERA Managing Director Professor Keith Martin is one of the surgeons involved with the clinical trial, and said it’s been exciting to see a locally designed device come to trial.

  “There are not many cases where a small team, without assistance from a major medical device or pharmaceutical company, have taken an idea like this all the way from the drawing board to clinical trial,” says Professor Martin.

  “It’s quite a privilege to be part of this trial, based on such fantastic research and a design that has been entirely locally created.”

  CERA researcher Dr Jennifer Fan Gaskin is the principal investigator at Cerulea coordinating the clinical trial and is also excited to be a part of it.

  “As a surgeon, we’re always looking for better options to help patients manage their glaucoma and seeing this come to trial we hope we’ll soon have another.”

  Professor Coote hopes that the device will improve the lives of the approximately 300,000 Australians affected by glaucoma.

  “We’re aiming for the VividFlo implant to play a critical role in the suite of ways we can protect people’s sight from glaucoma.”

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  Science and Research

  Glaucoma research

  Our researchers are among the world’s top scientists investigating the causes of glaucoma and how it can be better treated. We collaborate across research areas including gene therapy, mitochondrial research and clinical genetics.

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• Giving hope to the next generation

  Stories

  Giving hope to the next generation

  Ian Crump has searched for scientific answers his entire life and is still supporting research in every way he can.

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  Ian Crump wishes he were 50 years younger.

  “I trained as a biologist and geneticist in the 1960s – and I would just love to be able to join CERA researchers in their exciting work in their labs today,” he says.

  Now retired, Ian who is 77, graduated with a Bachelor of Science and a Diploma of Education and worked for a decade at the CSIRO in Melbourne.

  “I was part of a small team introducing computerised literature searching to CSIRO and other Australian scientists in the 1970s and 1980s,” Ian says.

  “We developed techniques to search large databases and were possibly some of the first people in Australia to use the internet.”

  Ian, who lives in Apollo Bay with his wife Chris, is keenly interested in the work of CERA researchers but not only because of his science background.

  Ian also lives with retinitis pigmentosa and is involved in CERA projects.

  Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of rare eye diseases that affect the retina – the light-sensitive layer of tissue in the back of the eye.

  Retinitis pigmentosa is caused by a change or ‘mistake’ in one or more genes.

  Cells in the retina do not work as they are supposed to and over time you lose vision.

  Around 70 genes are known to cause different types of retinitis pigmentosa. There are many more genes, but they have not been discovered yet.

  “My family has had retinitis pigmentosa for at least three generations, but we are lucky that it doesn’t start to affect us until our thirties and then gradually progresses,” Ian says.

  “My grandmother, father and two of his siblings, and my older brother and I have all maintained some central vision throughout our whole lives.

  “My grandmother was good at covering up her vision problems, but she would bump into things, then my father did the same.

  “My two sons have not shown any signs of the disease, so maybe they have won the genetic lottery.”

  

  Value of research: Ian Crump is passionate about supporting research.

  Supporting research

  Ian, who also has chronic fatigue syndrome, which led him to leaving the workforce early, grew up knowing retinitis pigmentosa would probably affect his vision later in life.

  “Every time I went to the optometrist, I asked whether I had any granules, and when they did start appearing, it didn’t really cause problems until my night vision went, which is a classic sign of retinitis pigmentosa,” he says.

  “Eventually I couldn’t line up things properly in my amateur screen printing.

  “I had to stop playing cricket about age 45, and when playing golf, I always needed a partner behind me watching as the ball would disappear from my limited peripheral vision and I had no idea where it went.

  “I also started to be known for bumping into displays and people at the local supermarket, which wasn’t too good.”

  Ian surrendered his driving licence at the age of 70.

  “We used to take our caravan to Queensland every winter – but when my licence came up for renewal, I ticked yes to the eye condition question,” he says.

  “That was difficult because my chronic fatigue means I can’t walk very far without tiring, and I started feeling depressed about both conditions.”

  Happily, Ian has since increased his mobility by using a scooter and sometimes a visibility cane.

  Ian began his connection with CERA several years ago after seeing an article about research. He generously donates once a month.

  “I provided my DNA to the VENTURE study but no gene match was found,” he says.

  “I always knew it was unlikely something would happen for me given my age but who knows? The amount and the speed of discoveries is so exciting.

  “And I wish I were 50 years younger! I would have loved to do research alongside CERA scientists.

  “The hope is there, and the results are coming.”

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• Lesley’s vibrant vision

  Stories

  Lesley’s vibrant vision

  Artist and great grandmother Lesley Hunter hopes to help others see by taking part in glaucoma research.

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  Lesley Hunter’s vibrant view of the world shines through all the mediums she paints in – except watercolor.

  “I’m a colourist and a very messy painter,” she explains.

  “I’ve got a studio where I throw paint around and you can’t do that if you paint watercolor – you have to be very neat and tidy.

  “I’m big and bold in my work. I’ve got paint on me, paint on the floor, paint on the dog, paint on everything else.”

  Her studio is in Beaufort – a small town in Victoria’s west between Ararat and Ballarat.

  She established her studio after years of extensive travelling with her late husband Bill, who in his retirement was a volunteer aid worker.

  Together they lived throughout Africa and Southeast Asia – including Rwanda and Thailand.

  “Since coming back to Australia in 1996, I’ve always had a studio,” Lesley says.

  “I have a gallery and do a lot of work locally and even with eyesight that hasn’t failed yet, though I curse it a bit, glaucoma doesn’t stop me doing what I want with paint.”

  

  Bright sight: Lesley with her painting titled Living Carefree.

  History of giving

  Lesley has lived with glaucoma for a decade now.

  “It just kind of popped up out of nowhere,” she says.

  “I believe my parents may have had it, but that is something that I’ve never been able to confirm.”

  Lesley’s condition is well managed and she hasn’t let it get in the way of her living her life – though her eyes do get tired after reading a book for a while.

  She has also recently returned from a trip to Morocco – and is aware just how important vision is for her travelling.

  “Morocco was mostly sand, so if you fell on your nose it doesn’t really matter,” she says.

  “I would not feel so secure in very rough terrain – but I don’t consider myself disadvantaged and I certainly don’t let it stop me from doing anything.”

  Every six months or so Lesley takes the train from Beaufort into Melbourne to take part in the research currently underway at the Centre for Eye Research Australia.

  She was first referred to CERA in 2020 by her eye specialist and CERA Research Fellow Dr Amy Cohn.

  The referral came after she was diagnosed with glaucoma, but her connection to CERA started a few years earlier through Bill.

  Bill was a registered organ and tissue donor, and when he passed away in 2017 his corneas went to CERA’s Lions Eye Donation Service to restore the sight of others.

  “Bill felt very strongly about giving, and this was a natural thing for him to do. His donation came from his very giving spirit,” says Lesley.

  In the same generosity of spirit, Lesley is also currently contributing towards putting good vision in reach of more people.

  “It’s corny, but if the research team learns something from me that can help someone else see, that’s everything I can hope for,” she says.

  Looking together

  Sandy Rezk is an optometrist and Clinical Research Coordinator at CERA and first met Lesley in June 2023.

  “Since then Lesley has attended six appointments, travelling over two hours each way and reliably completing 17 visual fields tests for us,” she says.

  A visual field test measures the range of a person’s vision.

  While it is painless and simple to perform – a person just needs to press a button when they see a light – it requires a lot of concentration for a long time.

  “She has also done extensive imaging, all at the age of 80 and always with a positive attitude and a great big smile,” says Sandy.

  “There’s so much I can say about Lesley’s commitment and passion which has been truly meaningful and inspirational.”

  Lesley says Sandy has been a wonderful guide through the experience of research.

  “Every time I go into that clinic with Sandy and I look at that machinery I think, ‘Oh my goodness, this doesn’t happen in a little bush optometrist – I’m very fortunate’.”

  “And I love going down there and having a chat to Sandy.”

  Lesley hopes that her efforts will contribute to new ways to understand and treat glaucoma.

  “It’s a bit of a cliché, but if I’m just one more figure on the graph and the research team can learn something from everything they have, that’s what it means to be on the cutting edge,” says Lesley.

  “If I can help them achieve that, it’s everything I can hope for.”

  World Glaucoma Week 2025

  Donate this World Glaucoma Week (9-15 March) and support our work to find new ways to diagnose and treat glaucoma.

  Donate this World Glaucoma Week (9-15 March) and support our work to find new ways to diagnose and treat glaucoma.

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