Manchester Royal Eye Hospital team first in the UK to recruit patient to improved cataract lens research study

Congratulations to Mr Niall Patton and Mr Sajjad Mahmood, Consultant Ophthalmologists and team at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital who recruited the first patient in the UK to the Extended Depth of Focus intraocular lens study within hours of the study going live.

This is a worldwide study which aims to compare the difference between two intraocular lenses fitted in place of the eye’s natural lens for patients’ requiring cataract surgery.

With more than 300,000 procedures carried out each year, cataracts are the most common cause of vision loss in people over 40 and the most common operation performed in the UK. Over time, the natural lens in our eyes can become less transparent causing cloudy, blurry, or misty vision. Cataract surgery involves an artificial lens being implanted to replace the natural lens of the eye under general anaesthetic.

The study will compare the standard lens currently being used with an investigational lens, which is intended to improve intermediate vision while maintaining far vision

Mr Patton, Consultant Ophthalmologist and Vitreoretinal Surgeon, at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital says;

It’s a great achievement that our team recruited the first patient in the UK to the study, especially  just one day after the study opened. Cataract surgery is an extremely common procedure, affecting many people’s lives. Research is important to help progress the development of new technologies to continue to improve the quality of life for our patients

This study will recruit 260 participants worldwide and recruitment is expected to run until December 2017. Funded by Alcon Research Ltd and sponsored by Alcon Eye Care UK Ltd. The study is supported by the NIHR Clinical Research Network: Greater Manchester.