Rehabilitation strategies for independent central binocular scotomas

 描述(由申请者提供)：阿尔贝蒂博士是一名新的研究员，正在寻求将自己确立为视力康复领域的独立研究员。她在低视力临床环境和研究方法方面拥有丰富的经验，是进行申请中描述的研究的有力候选人。作为申请主题的项目将是老年性黄斑变性(AMD)视力康复领域的创新和重要性的关键。AMD导致用于高分辨率视力的视网膜中央区域的视力丧失，而周边视力相对较少。中央视野丧失的人可能会发展出通过使用视网膜的外围部分来视觉来弥补缺陷的能力： 首选视网膜位置(PRL)。PRL位置的选择取决于暗点(疾病引起的盲点)的大小和位置，右眼和左眼的大小和形状不同。该项目旨在评估患者使用双眼时的视觉功能，并调查双眼PRL是如何从单眼暗点的位置得出的，最后，测量所选PRL的功能如何随着不同的任务和条件而变化。开发功能性PRL是老年性黄斑变性康复实践的主要目标，但由于缺乏关于PRL如何工作的技术和知识，康复训练的效果尚未得到证实。我们建议通过首先模拟正常视力人的中心视野损失(K99时相)来研究双眼PRL的选择。在确定了影响催乳素选择的因素后，我们将招募一个患有AMD的临床小组来从模拟实验中检验我们的假设。此外，在这个新阶段(R00阶段)，我们将在日常活动中测试双目视觉，如伸手和抓取物体。为了测量双目PRL位置，我们将开发一种新的PRL映射方法，并将其集成到我们的测试协议中。根据NIA的使命，为患有AMD的老年人开发适当的临床和康复实践是该项目的主要目标。感谢这个奖项，我将有机会在一位杰出的导师Peter Bex博士的指导下研究PRL的遴选，他目前是科学学院翻译愿景小组的负责人。我的长期目标是获得一项研究预约，并成立一个独立的实验室，对与衰老相关的重要视力问题产生明确的翻译影响。一个独立的实验室将需要获得新的技术技能，并建立临床协作来招募低视力受试者。软件开发将在贝克斯博士的帮助下进行。与拉什卡里博士(当地一家视网膜诊所的眼科医生)的合作将创建一个易于招募的低视力受试者数据库。我 我还将受益于我在东北大学的大社区中的学科招聘和可用的学习资源。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Dr. Alberti is a new investigator seeking to establish herself as an independent researcher in vision rehabilitation. She has considerable experience in low vision clinical settings and in research methods and is a strong candidate to conduct the research described in the application. The project that is subject of the application will be critial for innovation and importance in the field of vision rehabilitation for Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD). AMD causes vision loss in the central retinal area used for high-resolution vision with relative sparing of peripheral vision. People with central field loss may develop the ability to compensate for the deficit by using a peripheral portion of their retina for vision: the Preferred Retinal Locus (PRL). The selection of the PRL location depends on the size and location of the scotoma (blind spot caused by the disease), which is not the same size and shape in the right and left eyes. This project aims at evaluating visual function when patients use both eyes and investigating how the binocular PRL is derived from the locations of the monocular scotomas, and finally, measuring how the functionality of the chosen PRL changes with different tasks and conditions. The development of a functional PRL is the main objective of rehabilitation practices for AMD but the efficacy of rehabilitation training is not proven because of the lack of technologies and knowledge about how PRLs work. We propose to study binocular PRL selection by first simulating central field loss in normally sighted people (k99 phase). After underpinning the factors affecting PRL selection, we will recruit a clinical group with AMD to test our hypothesis from the simulation experiments. In addition, in this new phase (R00 phase) we will test binocular vision in everyday activities such as reaching for an object (reach and grasp). In order to measure binocular PRL location a new PRL mapping method will be developed and integrated in our testing protocol. The development of appropriate clinical and rehabilitation practices for elderly people with AMD is the main objective of this project in line with NIA mission. Thanks to this award, I will have the opportunity to study the PRL selection under the supervision of one outstanding mentor, Dr. Peter Bex who is currently leading the Translational Vision Group at the College of Science. My long-term goal is obtaining a research appointment and starting an independent lab with clear translational impact on important aging-related vision problems. An independent lab will require the acquisition of new technical skills and the instauration of clinical collaborations to recruit low vision subjects. The software development will be conducted with the help of Dr. Bex. The collaboration with Dr. Lashkari (eye doctor at a local retina clinic) will create a low vision subjects database for easy recruitment. I will also benefit from my integration in the large community at Northeastern University for subjects recruitment and for the available learning resources.