“Taking Part in a University Study Saved My Eyesight”

A staff member’s participation in a voluntary research study detected a sight-threatening disease which was misdiagnosed by opticians.

Tammie Farley, College of Science Events and Schools Liaison Manager at the University of Lincoln, UK responded to an open call to take part in a study where her eyes were to be routinely photographed. The study was being ran by Dr Bashir Al-Diri, Associate Professor and Programme Leader at Lincoln School of Computer Science as part of his project titled ARIAL (Automated Retinal Image Analysis Lab).

She volunteered as someone with healthy eyes to provide Dr Bashir with photographs to help build software designed to automatically analyse retinal images. The images can detect vascular segmentation which, if untreated, can cause blindness.

In February 2022, an irregularity appeared on the photographs of Tammie’s eyes. A month prior, she had noticed that straight lines appeared to have kinks in them. Spreadsheets, for example, became especially difficult for her to see clearly. An optician had diagnosed age-related macular degeneration (AMD), though Dr Bashir believed that this was a misdiagnosis.

Through corresponding with a fellow researcher at the University of Sunderland, Dr Maged Habib, a Consultant Ophthalmology and Retina Specialist, Dr Bashir was able to confirm that Tammie had Central Serous Chorioretinopathy with CNV (choroidal neovascularisation) rather than AMD. This disease can be sight-threatening.

The first four months are crucial in determining whether a patient with this disease will lose sight or not. By taking part in the study, Tammie was correctly diagnosed quickly and able to receive treatment with Dr Maged in March this year at no charge.

 “I am incredibly grateful to Dr Bashir for not only detecting the issue in my right eye but also his concern and continued monitoring of it over the past 15 months.  Had Bashir not liaised with Dr Habib at Sunderland Eye Infirmary I would not have received such speedy treatment. If it had been left without treatment or undiagnosed, I could have been left with permanent central vision loss.”

Tammie Farley

Tammie’s experience is just one example of the exceptional work ARIAL is doing to protect people’s eyesight. Since the project began in May 2018, 12 per cent of the participants were found to have abnormal signs in their retinal images and were encouraged to follow up with their opticians and continue with the retinal scans to detect any further changes.

A further five per cent of the participants had started to develop more serious conditions that would have been undetected by the participant and were referred to their GPs for more investigations.

Dr Bashir Al-Diri, Lead Investigator of ARIAL, said:

“Our vascular system adapts to various conditions, age, and lifestyle activities. It is crucial to differentiate between changes due to pathology and those due to normal aging and lifestyle factors. However, this has been difficult in the past due to a lack of images from non-pathological participants.
“The ARIAL project aims to address this issue by collecting images over time to discover patterns and learn cause-and-effect relationships. By analysing these images and correlating them with other clinical data, the project hopes to develop a set of integrated techniques that will influence routine clinical patient care in the years to come.”

Dr Bashir Al-Diri

Dr Bashir was the first ever PhD student at Lincoln’s School of Computer Science and has been researching this subject for almost 20 years. To develop an artificial intelligence system that monitors changes to a patient’s eye, he requires considerably more photographs of eyes where any segmentation is manually measured and logged.

This manual process, however, is incredibly time consuming. He hopes to employ the assistance of medical students or colleagues to continue progressing the project which could have a transformative impact on UK provision of optical care.

Image 1 shows the abnormality identified in Tammie’s eye in photos captured on 01/12/2022. Image 2 shows Tammie’s healthy eye report from 31/03/2023 following treatment. The retinal thickness shadowgraph indicates where the disease is present and shows the significantly increased thickness. A ‘hole’ is also visible on the left-hand photos which is shown to be repaired in Image 2. The fully green thickness graph displayed in Image 2 also shows the success of the treatment, with only faint traces of abnormality left on the shadowgraph.

Social Engagement with Parkinson’s community in Lincolnshire

Research within the College of Science is central to our mission. Our research aims to be relevant to the field it relates to, and something that will make a difference to local, national and international communities. Research is not only crucial in underpinning our academic agendas, it is vital to the economic success and social fabric of society. This engagement opportunity has been supported by public engagement for all with research at Lincoln, PEARL

In January, our School of Pharmacy held a research event, which was focused on Parkinson’s Disease (PD). For those who may not have heard of Parkinson’s, it is a degenerative neurological condition, in which parts of the brain become progressively damaged over time.

The aim of the event was to explore and improve the health issues amongst the Parkinson’s Community in Lincolnshire. Attending the event was researchers, clinical pharmacists/ health care practitioners, current pharmacy students, and people living with Parkinson’s Disease and their careers.

During the event, attendees had the chance to network, offering them the opportunity to create new friendships and learn about each other’s experiences. The first session allowed individuals to discuss their journey, from the diagnosis to the daily challenges they now face. Following this, an artistic/self-expression activity session which was held, as this is often a form of therapy for people with PD.

We heard from Dr Richard Ngomba, lead PEARL grant recipient within the School of Pharmacy and Honorary clinical research fellow at ULHT, Lincoln County hospital, to hear his thoughts on the event. 

“What was the reason behind holding this event?”

“It’s just a combination of many factors, no doubt yes it’s intellectual curiosity but it seems more like a sort of innate call really, to take care of people and to understand where their needs lie, then to work out with them the best solutions required to improve their wellbeing as they face the various challenges within the system.”

“Following the event, what did we learn?”

“I have to admit that I am still learning all the time, and what I have gathered on this occasion is that communication between patients and healthcare providers is essential. The togetherness of people living with PD, their families and friends are central to ensuring that everybody is well represented and heard throughout all the stages of patients’ care. Health providers need to learn more from the patients and their families.”

We also heard from one of the attendees, who commented on the event.

“I found the session very informative and unlike most social gatherings, which I wouldn’t usually attend because of my PD Symptoms. I didn’t feel uncomfortable amongst strangers. I hope in the future, there will be further opportunities like this as I found it beneficial in many ways.”

For more information on Parkinson’s Disease, please click here. Or if you or someone you know would like to take part in future sessions, please get in touch with our College of Science Marketing Team by emailing, sciencemarketing@lincoln.ac.uk.

STEM Christmas Lectures 2022

STEM Christmas Lectures 2022

“I could use a little social interaction” – The Grinch

If you’re feeling a little bit like The Grinch, why not join us the week beginning Monday 12 December, for our annual STEM Christmas Lecture Series?  

This series aims to inspire the next generation of scientists and will showcase our expertise in key STEM subjects.

We will be offering both virtual and in-person lectures across the week streamed via our YouTube channel and on our beautiful Brayford Campus, giving everyone the opportunity to experience a taste of teaching at Lincoln.

So, if you have any interest in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Engineering, or Computer Science, then why not come along?

The full schedule of talks can be found below:

Schedule

Date Time Talk Speaker  Watch
Monday 12 December 1.00 to 1.45pm Santa’s Little Helper – Robots picking, packing and delivering Professor Marc Hanheide, Professor of Intelligent Robotics and Interactive Systems Watch Live
Tuesday 13 December 1.00pm to 1.45pm How to Grow a Moon Dr Phil Sutton, Senior Lecturer in Astrophysics Watch Live
Wednesday 14 December 1.00pm to 1.45pm A Pet’s View of Christmas Professor Daniel Mills, Professor of Veterinary Behavioural Medicine Watch Live
Wednesday 14 December 6.00pm to 7.50pm Fish Tales: The History and Physics of the Goldfish Professor Andrei Zvelindovsky, Head of the School of Mathematics and Physics

Professor Anna Marie Roos, Professor of the History of Science and Medicine

Isaac Newton Building

Lecture Theatre INB0114

Thursday 15 December 1.00pm to 1.45pm Fantastic Festive Food National Centre for Food Manufacturing Team Watch Live
Friday 16 December 1.00pm to 1.45pm Santa the High Risk Traveller (Travel Health) Dr Ian Heslop, Acting Head of School of Pharmacy Watch Live

 

We look forward to seeing you all there! 

Biomedical Science Day 2022

Did you know today is Biomedical Science Day?

No, I hear you say. Well, let me tell you a bit about it. 

Biomedical Science Day is organised by the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS), the professional body for biomedical scientists, laboratory support staff and students. The day is held on the birthday of IBMS founder, Albert Norman (1881-1964), and aims to raise the profile of biomedical science and to show that it is at the heart of patients’ healthcare.

Here at the University of Lincoln, we understand the importance of Biomedical Science and inspiring our next generation of scientists, whether that be through research and/or teaching.

Today we are celebrating by showcasing some of our students and staff. Hear from them and discover why Biomedical Science may be the course for you.

For more information on our BSc (Hons) and MBio Biomedical Science Courses, please visit – https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/course/bmsbmsub/

Thank GAMES It’s Friday!

There’s nothing better than that Friday feeling, right? Well, that feeling gets even better on Friday 29 April, if your a lover of everything games computing!

Start your weekend on a high, as you join our academics from the School of Computer Science for their ‘Thank GAMES It’s Friday’ event.

This event aims to give you the opportunity to ask our academics about studying Games Computing at the University of Lincoln, whilst enjoying a game…or two.

There is no need to register, just simply tune into their YouTube channel here, at 5pm on Friday.

So get ready to hang up your ‘CAUTION GAMING IN PROGRESS’ sign and we look forward to welcoming you!

Congratulations to Liam Mason

Last week, Liam Mason, one of our PhD students from our School of Computer Science won the CHI best paper award. Well done Liam!

We spoke to Liam, to get an insight into his best paper titled “Including the Experiences of Physically Disabled Players in Mainstream Guidelines for Movement-Based Games”.

“In this chi paper titled “Including the Experiences of Physically Disabled Players in Mainstream Guidelines for Movement-Based Games”. We highlight how movement-based video games can be entertaining and have the potential to encourage players to be more physically active. However, current design guidelines for such games, are overwhelmingly geared toward non-disabled players, in this work we draw from interviews and an online survey with wheelchair users to contextualize and expand existing guidelines in this field.

This was my last paper submission to a conference as part of my PhD and I have had a very good run with papers being accepted throughout but no awards until this, so it is a really great way to finish my PhD.

This chapter of my work was the most challenging – some of these interviews were nearly 3 hours long! So getting an award for best paper really gives me the confidence for passing! But it’s important to note, I couldn’t do it without the expertise of my co-authors, we went through many many iterations, working all the way through lockdown so I really appreciate the effort they put in too!”

You can watch his favourite video on YouTube here, more information on the award can also be found on the CHI website.