Refractive Outcomes in Macular Edema Prematurity
ROMEP
What is the goal of the study?
Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a potentially blinding eye disease that occurs in premature infants due to abnormal blood vessel development in the light sensing part of the eye known as the retina. Many premature infants develop a variety of visual problems later in life including needing very strong glasses, developing eye misalignment, or developing lazy eye. This study seeks to take special high-resolution pictures using both an instrument known as a handheld optical coherence tomography (OCT) and an FDA approved wide angle camera known as the RetCam. The OCT has been known to identify many cases of fluid in the retina of premature infants, also known as macular edema. RetCam imaging is already being used on a select subset of babies in the UW NICU to monitor disease progression and document clinical outcomes. It is considered as an alternative option in many NICU’s as a telemedicine approach to diagnosing ROP This study will identify whether infants with this fluid have higher risk of serious eye problems later in life, in particular a need for extremely strong glasses. This work may lead to future treatments for this fluid to prevent later visual impairment. In addition, we are using swept source optical coherence tomography with and without angiography to identify biomarkers associated with ROP severity and comparing accuracy to predict severe ROP to the RetCam.
Who can participate in the study?
Please contact the study team listed below to learn more.