Screening of Dubai schoolchildren helps diagnose undetected visual problems at an early stage

Notes and media contacts

Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai - school screening tests:
Distance Visual Acuity is measured using an age-specific linear vision chart at a distance of 6 meters. Testing begins with large letters that should be easily visible to children, the size is then decreased at standard increments.

Stereopsis: Our eyes see two slightly different views of the world and because our visual system can fuse these two images into one this enables us to see in stereoscopic depth or 3-D. Having good stereopsis is dependent upon having two good eyes that work together, for this reason stereopsis testing provides an excellent way of detecting squints (strabismus), lazy eyes (amblyopia) and a variety of other conditions. Children are asked to identify the shapes, animals, or letters present on a random dot stereogram. The images will only be visible to those with normal stereopsis.

Eye Muscle Balance and Movement: Squint (strabismus) is a condition that occurs when one or both eyes are misaligned and the eyes do not point in the same direction. The eyes may turn inwards (crossed eyes), outwards (wall eyed), or up and down. This may be caused by a muscle imbalance or a need for glasses. More sensitive than the stereograms, cover testing or covering each eye and observing for any abnormal movement will reveal any manifest or latent tendency for the eyes to squint.

Convergence: Convergence insufficiency, or CI, is an eye muscle disorder characterized by an inability to maintain convergence of the eyes while performing near related tasks such as reading. CI is the leading cause of eye-strain, blurry vision, and double vision in children. Treatment typically involves eye exercises that can be performed at home or as in-office therapy sessions.

Retinal (red) reflex: This is the red-orange spot (red eye) in the pupil made by the light that reflects out of the eye, it is more commonly noticed when one has taken a photograph using a camera with a built-in flash. Using a special instrument we can use this reflex to detect opacities in the visual axis, abnormalities of the back of the eye, and problems that may cause a lazy eye. The red reflex seen in each eye should be bright reddish-yellow (light gray in darkly pigmented, brown eyes) and identical in both eyes. Any asymmetry in color, brightness, or size is indicative of a problem.

About Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai:
Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai (MEHD) is the first overseas branch of Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the oldest and one of the largest centres for ophthalmic treatment, teaching and research in the world. Located at the Al Razi Medical Complex in Dubai Health Care City, the facility provides daycase surgery and outpatient diagnostic and treatment services, including emergency care, for a variety of surgical and non-surgical eye conditions. MEHD will also raise standards for research and teaching in the region through its partnership with the Harvard Medical School Dubai Center.

MEHD is owned and managed by the NHS Foundation Trust, and maintains close links with London, including a telelink with sophisticated videoconferencing technology, to ensure that patients in the GCC receive the best eye care treatment in the world.

For further information, please call 04 429 7888.

Media contact:
Jonathan Walsh
WPR
Dubai
Tel: 050 4588610