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A Site for Sore Eyes
CUHK establishes new centre to promote advancement in Glaucoma management
The Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences of the Faculty of Medicine has received a generous donation of HK$15 million from Dr. Lam Kin-chung and Dr. Ho Hau-wong to establish the Lam Kin Chung . Jet King-Shing Ho Glaucoma Treatment and Research Centre, with the aim to advance glaucoma management in Hong Kong through research, training and education. Amongst its many programmes, the Centre will launch a pilot study to investigate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the detection of the disease, targeting to allow patients to receive timely evaluation by ophthalmologists and reduce their risk of glaucoma blindness.
Glaucoma is a common eye condition where the optic nerve, which connects the eye to the brain, becomes irreversibly damaged, often due to a build-up of pressure inside the eye. Glaucoma can lead to irreversible loss of vision if not diagnosed and treated in time. Modern treatments can only slow down or stop further visual loss; they cannot recover any vision that is already lost. Therefore, early and accurate diagnosis of glaucoma amongst people at risk is critical to prevent even more visual loss from glaucoma.
‘With the tremendous support from Dr. Lam Kin-chung and Dr. Ho Hau-wong, our newly established glaucoma treatment and research centre is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities to provide advanced training and educational programmes for healthcare professionals, as well as world-leading clinical services for glaucoma patients,’ Prof. Clement C. Y. Tham, chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, remarked.
Dr. Carol Y. L. Cheung, associate professor of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, commented on the pilot study that the Centre is going to launch. ‘We are collaborating with Hong Kong Eye Hospital to conduct a pilot study with an aim to deploy AI algorithm to enhance the screening and triaging of suspected glaucoma patients for timely evaluation by ophthalmologists and early treatment for those confirmed glaucoma patients. This will bring forth a big societal impact by improving quality and efficiency of the clinical services in Hong Kong and the surrounding regions.’