Patient and Public Involvement in Surgical Research – Cushla Cooper
Cushla Cooper, Research Manager, Surgical Intervention Trials Unit, University of Oxford, explains how patients and the public have worked with the University to design clinical trials. From children's fingernail injuries to broken legs in adults, patients provide valuable insight into how researchers design and manage research into new surgical techniques.
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. For information visit https://oxfordbrc.nihr.ac.uk/world-first-for-robot-eye-operation/
"Bionic eye" trial in Oxford
University of Oxford research, supported by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, is looking to halt and even reverse vision loss for blind patients at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford with funding from Oxford BRC. Electronic retinal implants – referred to some as the 'bionic eye' – are designed to replace the lost photoreceptors in the eyes of patients suffering from degenerative retinal diseases. In healthy eyes, light falling on the photoreceptors in the retina is converted into electrical signals which are carried by the optic nerve from the eye to the brain where 'seeing' actually occurs. In many retinal diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP), the photoreceptors die, and therefore the light falling onto the retina can no longer be converted into electrical signals. The research involves surgery to place an electronic retinal implant underneath the central part of retina which is connected by an electrical cable to a power supply behind the ear, which can be recharged wirelessly via electromagnetic induction. The electronic retinal implant is a grid of photosensitive electrodes similar to those found in digital cameras and is able to act as an artificial layer of photoreceptor cells. It is able to convert light into a pixelated array of electrical signals which can then be carried to the brain by the optic nerve. Learn more at https://oxfordbrc.nihr.ac.uk/
From conventional open surgery to remote control operating – lecture by Prof. Freddie Hamdy
Professor Freddie Hamdy, Divisional Director for Surgery & Oncology, Nuffield Professor of Surgery and NIHR research theme leader, talks about the studies that are evaluating the effectiveness of new innovations and surgical techniques.
World first: robot used to help deliver drug inside eye
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 treat a haemorrhage, an accumulation of blood in the eye that causes vision loss. It is now hoped the robot can be used for other pioneering surgeries such as gene therapy, where a virus is delivered to replace missing genes that lead to loss of vision. The device has been developed by Preceyes BV, a Dutch medical robotics firm established by the University of Eindhoven, and is being trialled at the John Radcliffe by the University of Oxford. More information: http://www.ouh.nhs.uk/news/article.aspx?id=583