HPD Research Day | February 16, 2018

6 Hull Auditorium Hull Auditorium 10:45 – 11:15 a.m. Longitudinal Study of Efficacy of Retreatment and Duration of Visual Improvements Following Transcorneal Electrical Stimulation in Three Individuals with Retinitis Pigmentosa Kenneth R. Seger, MS, OD, Associate Professor, College of Optometry, Nova Southeastern University Ava K. Bittner, PhD, Associate Professor, College of Optometry, Nova Southeastern University Objective. A small-scale randomized controlled trial conducted by our group found that four of seven retinitis pigmentosa (RP) subjects who received six weekly Transcorneal Electrical Stimulation (TES) sessions developed significant improvements in visual acuity (VA), quick contrast sensitivity function (qCSF), and/or Goldmann visual fields (GVF). We longitudinally monitored three of these participants for declining visual function due to natural RP progression to determine the duration of their responses and administered retreatments. Background. Retinitis Pigmentosa is a hereditary ocular disease that leads to restricted visual fields and night blindness. It has been resistant to any treatments which might mitigate the effects of the disease. The initial experience with TES has shown encouraging results. Methods. Over a period of 29-35 months, repeated ETDRS VA, qCSF and/or GVF tests and three to six TES treatment courses consisting of six weekly sessions were administered in each eye of three RP participants every four to 16 months in an unmasked, prospective case series study. Results. For two participants, there were significant VA improvements of 44-52 letters (0.88-1.04 logMAR) and 15-23 letters (0.3-0.46 logMAR) in the worse eye at baseline after each of three or four treatment courses of TES compared to initial baseline. They had no significant decreases from baseline for VA or qCSF over 29 to 35 months, The third participant had a significant mean improvement in VA in the eye with better baseline vision (p=0.004) and binocularly (p. Conclusion. Following encouraging visual improvements after TES that lasted for several months, it appears it may be possible to restore and prevent slowly diminishing vision over time with retreatments, which requires confirmation in a large-scale randomized controlled trial. Hull Auditorium 11:15 – 11:45 a.m. Feasibility of Using Bluetooth Beacon Sensors to Detect Magnifier Usage by Low Vision Patients in Clinic and at Home Ava K. Bittner, Ph.D., Associate Professor, College of Optometry, Nova Southeastern University Rakin Khan, Halmos College, Nova Southeastern University Objective. Bluetooth beacons were evaluated as an indicator of held-held optical magnifier use during reading by low vision patients. Background. Bluetooth low energy beacons are an emerging, novel technology involving tiny sensors that collect real-time continuous, objective data, which might help ascertain the abandonment of low vision devices (magnifiers) in a timely manner to prompt a follow-up evaluation to resolve any issues. Methods. Temperature and/or humidity data were recorded by Estimote and BlueMaestro TM beacons that we attached to the handle of optical magnifiers used to help with reading by low vision patients in clinic(n=13) and at home(n=3). Results. In the clinic, patients whose hand/fingers made direct vs. indirect contact with Estimote beacons had greater temperature increases on average from baseline after 30 seconds (0.68°C vs. 0.26°C), 60 seconds (1.02°C vs. 0.35°C), 90 seconds (1.39°C vs. 0.54°C), 105-120 seconds (1.54°C vs. 0.62°C), and 135-150 seconds (2.07°C vs. 0.8°C). During magnifier usage at home, the BlueMaestro TM beacon measured rapid increases in temperature (5.6°C per minute on average; range 2.7-7.3°C) and humidity (19.4% per minute on average; range 8.7-34%). Humidity tended to reach its maximum increase and return back to baseline more quickly than temperature. All increases during magnifier usage were much greater than the maximum room fluctuations without use (clinic: 0.2°C over 120 seconds; home: 0.6°C and 2.4% over 1 minute). The beacons were non-intrusive and acceptable by patients. Conclusions. Estimote and BlueMaestro TM beacons can reliably detect temperature and humidity increases when held by low vision patients while reading with a magnifier.