Decentralising the monitoring and treatment of retinal disease: Assessing feasibility and capturing specifications

65%的60岁以上的人患有年龄相关性黄斑变性（AMD）。这是一种退行性疾病，影响你眼睛后部的一个区域。AMD是发达国家失明的主要原因。随着人口老龄化，这一患者群体将给已经在努力跟上疾病诊断和治疗负担的卫生系统带来巨大压力。AMD患者成像的临床金标准是一种称为光学相干断层扫描（OCT）的技术。这种次表面成像技术用于诊断患者和监测需要治疗的疾病变化。快速识别这些变化是至关重要的，因为每过一天不接受治疗就会导致视力丧失。Siloton是一家位于布里斯托的初创企业，它正在使用一种名为光子集成电路（PIC）的新技术开发一种小型、坚固、低成本的OCT，可以安装在患者家中。这个想法是让患者自己使用该设备，并将图像上传到云端，算法将分析图像并识别需要前往诊所接受治疗的患者。这消除了监控预约的需要，并确保患者获得精确的药物剂量。Siloton已经建立了OCT设备的概念验证，该项目旨在验证这种方法在英国的可行性。该项目将评估此类服务的监管要求，对NHS的财务影响进行健康经济分析，并通过Macular Society运营的焦点小组与患者接触，以便对不同的设备形式进行人体工程学分析，并在实施此类解决方案时捕获关键的心理因素。这些信息将用于确保进一步的私人投资和进一步的非稀释性资金，如NIHR产品开发奖。

65% of over 60's suffer with a condition called age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This is a degenerative disease impacting an area at the back of your eye. AMD is the leading cause of blindness in the developed world. As populations age, this patient group will apply substantial pressure to health systems that are already struggling to keep up with the diagnostic and treatment burden of the disease. The clinical gold standard for imaging patients with AMD is a technology called optical coherence tomography (OCT). This sub-surface imaging technique is used to diagnose patients and to monitor for disease changes that require treatment. Rapidly identifying these changes is crucial, as every day that passes without receiving treatment _will_ result in sight loss.Siloton is a start up based in Bristol that is using a new technology called photonic integrated circuits (PICs) to develop a small, robust, and low-cost OCT that can be installed in patient homes. The idea is for patients to use the device themselves and for images to be uploaded to the cloud where algorithms will analyse images and identify patients needing to visit the clinic for treatment. This eliminates the need for monitoring appointments as well as ensuring that patients receive precisely the right amount of medication.Siloton has built a proof of concept of the OCT device, and this project seeks to validate the feasibility of this approach in the UK. The project will assess the regulatory requirements of such a service, perform a health-economic analysis of financial impact to the NHS, and engage with patients via Macular Society-run focus groups in order to perform ergonomic analyses of different device forms and to capture the key psychological factors when implementing such a solution. This information will be used to secure further private investment and further non-dilutive funding such as the NIHR product development awards.