NeuroEyeCoach™: achieving the gold standard for eyesight rehabilitation at home and in the clinic

Impact

Description of impact

Researchers at the University of Aberdeen, led by Professor Sahraie, have developed and commercialised a new therapy for patients with sight loss following stroke: NeuroEyeCoach™. Each year, approximately 100,000 people in the UK, EU and US suffer sight loss due to stroke, resulting in sudden unanticipated disability that can severely impact quality of life. Previous therapeutic approaches lacked reach due to the necessity for numerous clinic visits and substantial clinician time investment. NeuroEyeCoach™ is accessed by patients at home or in clinics. It is adaptive to the individual’s disability, allowing tailored training matched to the patient’s needs. Data from patients accessing NeuroEyeCoach™ showed major benefits: improved vision and daily living activities – improving their quality of life. The therapy has regulatory approval in the EU and the USA and has been widely used to rehabilitate patients in these areas, as well as in the UK.

Outcomes to Date / Future Developments

Impact on patient health and well-being has been achieved by providing an accessible therapy shown to measurably improve patients’ visual abilities and also their everyday quality of life. NeuroEyeCoach™ was developed in 2014 with the Aberdeen research team’s industrial partners (Novavision Inc., a subsidiary of Vycor Medical Inc. and Insiso Ltd.). This trademarked, copyrighted vision rehabilitation tool has regulatory approval as a Class I CE marked medical device in the EU and an FDA 510(K) exempt medical device in the US. NeuroEyeCoach™ addressed two of the major issues that had limited existing visual rehabilitation therapies: (1) it incorporates proprietary algorithms to standardise therapy and (2) it can be used in clinics as well as directly by patients at home, providing ease of access to therapy after stroke. Because the technology is commercially available as a regulated medical device and can be used in clinics or at the patient’s home, it has extensive reach. As a result, NeuroEyeCoach™ has changed clinical practice for therapeutic care after stroke and has been increasingly recommended and used by clinical practitioners within the EU and US. Several press reports have reported on the novel technology having successfully treated effects of blindness.
Impact statusImpact Completed (Open)
Impact date20112020

Keywords

  • Health