RESEARCH
Reading the Eye
THE LANGUAGE
OF
The new Utah Retinal Reading Center at Moran plays a pivotal role in the development of therapies.
The top row of images shows changes detected in the eye of an early-stage AMD patient with mild visual symptoms. The bottom row shows the same eye four years later when advanced atrophy and tissue loss have caused a blind spot in the patient’s central vision.
In 1792, while teaching at Cambridge University, William Farish forever changed the academic world. Paid by the number of students he could teach, Farish devised the A to F numeric grading system to measure student progress and ultimately increase class size. His system is now a universal yardstick, understood worldwide.
18
At the Moran Eye Center’s new Utah Retinal Reading Center (UREAD), which opened in early 2020, a talented team is developing universal grading systems of its own.
sophisticated image analysis software, UREAD is at the forefront of a rapidly evolving field in which scientists are striving to create a common language in the fight against blindness.
Analyzing thousands of images of the human retina in a process known as “grading,” the team is investigating imaging standards that will allow scientists around the world to monitor the progress of eye diseases and the impact of treatments. Supported by a cadre of human image readers and
“This is the work that ultimately decides key questions such as the right time to administer therapies and what data points we should be looking at to determine how effective those therapies are,” explained UREAD Director Steffen Schmitz-Valckenberg, MD.
