A study by Oxford BRC-supported researchers has identified the main challenges associated with the recruitment and retention of participants in surgical trials in the UK. The study was part of the PIRRIST project, which aims to enhance recruitment and retention in surgical trials by involving patients and the public in developing the trials. It was published … Read more
News for Surgical Innovation and Evaluation
Eight BRC projects get RCF funding
Eight Oxford BRC proposals, many covering a number of themes, have been awarded NIHR Research Capability Funding (RCF) funding to take forward key areas of research. The selected projects that will be supported include: Developing a research centre devoted to urgent and acute care The creation of a state-of-the-art imaging centre; and of a new … Read more
BRC researchers’ work recognised with Vice-Chancellor’s Awards
A number of Oxford BRC-supported researchers have been recognised in this year’s University of Oxford Vice-Chancellor Innovation Awards. The Vice-Chancellor Innovation Awards celebrate research-led innovation that is having societal or economic impact. Prof Robert MacLaren, who leads the BRC’s Surgical Innovation theme, was named winner of the Inspiring Leadership category for his work on creation and spin-out of … Read more
Gene therapy shows promise in tackling common cause of childhood blindness
The results of a first-in-human clinical trial of gene therapy to treat a common cause of genetic blindness have shown partial reversal of sight loss in some patients. X-linked retinitis pigmentosa, caused by mutations in RPGR gene, is the most common cause of blindness in young people. The inherited mutations lead to degeneration of light … Read more
Oxford professors appointed NIHR Senior Investigators
Four leading healthcare academics in Oxford have received a prestigious national award. The University of Oxford professors were named National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Senior Investigators in recognition of being “among the most prominent and prestigious researchers funded by the NIHR and the most outstanding leaders of patient and people-based research within the NIHR research community and … Read more
World’s first gene therapy operation for common cause of sight loss carried out
Researchers in Oxford have carried out the world’s first gene therapy operation to tackle the root cause of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the UK’s most common cause of sight loss. The procedure was carried out at the John Radcliffe Hospital by Prof Robert MacLaren, Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Oxford, with the support … Read more
First human test of robotic eye surgery a success
The first trial of robot-assisted eye surgery in patients has shown the technique to be both safe and effective. Researchers from the University of Oxford, supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) have completed the first successful trial of remotely controlled robot-assisted retinal surgery. The findings were published … Read more
Oxford medical researchers win prestigious national awards
Leading health researchers in Oxford have been recognised in a prestigious national competition. Eight professors have been named National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Senior Investigators in recognition of their “outstanding contribution to clinical and applied health and social care research”. The successful candidates are all prominent researchers in the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre … Read more
Second key step for eye robot trial
A robot has been used to inject a drug into the back of the eye in a world first for the next phase of a landmark clinical trial at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital. Prof Robert MacLaren used the remotely controlled robot to administer a tiny volume of blood dissolving agent tPA under the retina to … Read more
World first for robot eye operation
Surgeons at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital have performed the world’s first operation inside the eye using a robot. Robert MacLaren, Professor of Ophthalmology assisted by Dr Thomas Edwards, Nuffield Medical Fellow, used the remotely controlled robot to lift a membrane 100th of a millimetre thick from the retina at the back of the right eye … Read more
“Bionic eye” to feature on ITV documentary
The story of a patient who was among the first in the UK to receive the world’s most advanced ‘bionic eye’ is to feature on ITV this month. Nikki Watson’s story will feature on “What Would Be Your Miracle?” on ITV 1 on Thursday, May 12 at 9pm. The 48-year-old, from Devon, was diagnosed with … Read more
Gene therapy shows long-term benefit for treating rare blindness
Pioneering gene therapy has restored some vision to patients with a rare form of genetic blindness for as long as four years, raising hopes it could be used to cure common causes of vision loss, new University of Oxford research published today shows. A technique which involves injecting a virus into the eye to deliver … Read more
Blind woman’s joy as she reads the time thanks to “bionic eye”
A patient who is the first in the UK to receive the world’s most advanced “bionic eye” has been able to read the time for the first time in more than five years. The moment Rhian Lewis, 49, realised she had correctly told the time is captured on BBC’s “Trust Me I’m A Doctor”, to … Read more
Bionic eyes give us a look into future of medical technology
BIONIC eyes, lung imaging and pregnancy apps were part of an exhibition revealing life-changing research taking place in Oxford. Members of the public had a rare opportunity to meet surgeons, nurses and clinical researchers who are building the next generation of clinical techniques to revolutionise medicine.The Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, based at the Churchill Hospital, … Read more
Surgery offers better survival rates for most men with localised prostate cancer
Surgical treatment offers better survival rates than radiotherapy for most men with clinically localised prostate cancer, according to one of the largest studies of its type. Researchers in Oxford, Stockholm, and the Netherlands compared data from more than 34,000 patients in Sweden over a 15-year period and found surgery offered improved survival rates, with greatest … Read more
Device keeps human liver alive outside body
World first: human liver kept alive and functioning on machine outside patient’s body World first: livers kept alive on device successfully transplanted into two patients Oxford University machine could as much as double number of livers for transplant Technology currently being trialled for first time with humans at King’s College Hospital in London In a … Read more
Royal visit to Oxford’s Churchill Hospital
The Duke of York visited the Churchill Hospital in Oxford today to mark the opening of the new building. The building, that includes an integrated Cancer and Haematology Centre, provides a base for many NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre projects. Chairman of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Dame Fiona Caldicott said: “We were absolutely delighted … Read more
Gene therapy trial begins for blindness caused by choroideraemia
Professor Robert MacLaren from the University of Oxford and Professor Miguel Seabra from Imperial College London are undertaking a clinical trial using gene therapy to treat a disease that causes blindness known as choroideraemia. This condition is currently incurable and affects thousands of people worldwide. This is the world’s first clinical trial for this disease … Read more
First electronic retina implanted in the UK
Surgeons in Oxford are the first in the UK to successfully implant an electronic retina into the back of an eye. On 22 March 2012, Chris James became the first patient in the UK to receive this ground-breaking surgery as part of a clinical trial being carried out at John Radcliffe Hospital and King’s College … Read more
Man treated in Oxford for blindness with gene therapy
Researchers in Oxford have treated a man with an advanced gene therapy technique to prevent him from losing his sight. It is the first time that anyone has tried to correct a genetic defect in the light-sensing cells that line the back of the eye. The president of the Academy of Medical Sciences said the widespread … Read more