Towards the end of the study, the UKBB steering committee advised the broadening of the scope of the study to include more detailed examination of participants, including assessment of physical fitness, brain and cardiac imaging, as well as an examination of eyes and vision. Moorfields Eye Hospital and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology in London developed the eye and vision module. The core funding for the examination was provided by the Wellcome Trust, The Medical Research Council and The Department of Health. Additional support for training, implementation and quality control came from the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital.
Eye data available within UKBB include visual acuity, auto-refraction and intraocular pressure data on >112,000 people. In addition, simultaneous digital fundus photography (single-field 45° centred on the macula), as well as macular optical coherence tomography was carried out on 67,725 people. Links to other data available in UKBB, together with the longitudinal design of the study, make this possibly the most valuable research resource for UKophthalmology. During the data collection phase of UKBB, the Image Reading Centre at Moorfields provided a rapid turn-around quality assurance service for the macular photos and OCT images, finding them to be of high quality, compared with other studies using similar methodology.
Eye and vision researchers around the UK have formed a consortium involving clinicians and academics from around the UK, incorporating Belfast, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Dundee, Edinburgh, Gloucester, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Southampton, St Andrews, Warwick and several London centres (Brunel, Imperial, Kings, Moorfields, UCL, St Georges). The consortium interacts using UK Universities JISCMail email list server. The group meets in February each year for a day-long programme of planning, discussion, debate at the Wellcome Trust Conference Centre in London. This has led to the formation of groups working on various aspects of data, including visual acuity, refractive error, intraocular pressure, retinal vascular characteristics, genetics and outcomes adjudication and monitoring.
Who we are
- We are a group of scientists and clinicians with an interest in eyes, vision and diseases which affect sight
- We represent leading UK Universities and Hospitals
- The consortium's administration is based at Moorfields Eye Hospital and The UCL Institute of Ophthalmology in London
What we do
- We use data from UK Biobank to study what causes eye disease and vision loss and investigate how these can be controlled and prevented
- Research into the causes of disease help to develop new, more effective treatments