Australia leading the world in vision correction research

Last year we learnt that more than one billion people are affected with presbyopia (age-related long-sightedness). We also know that around 1.6 billion people are currently affected with myopia (short-sightedness) and that this is estimated to grow to 2.5 billion by the year 2020.

Research published this year revealed for the first time the cost to the global economy of uncorrected vision impairment – $269 billion. The magnitude of this figure is truly shocking. Apart from the economic cost, it serves to emphasise the massive impact that vision loss has on the individual lives of people – preventing them from engaging in economic activity, having the chance of a decent education and making valuable contributions to their communities.

Incidentally, the cost of providing the necessary vision correction – around 90% which is needed in the developing world – is a fraction of the amount of lost productivity.

These are serious challenges for the optometric and ophthalmic professions. They also represent an opportunity for Australian researchers and industry to make a significant contribution to improving health care outcomes and to further develop our understanding of ocular health, the optical system and the technology behind new modes of vision correction. It is also a chance to make a long-term investment in Australia’s capacity for breakthrough research.

Australia is poised to make a major contribution to the development of solutions to these vision care and public health problems. We are home to some of the most inventive minds in the world and we have a strong legacy of excellence in research and product development in the area of vision correction, developed through a strong network of local and international collaborators, which places us at the forefront of creating new ways of enhancing vision.

At the Institute for Eye Research we have been working on the development of vision correction technologies that will offer superior vision correction for a range of refractive errors (including myopia and presbyopia) – eye conditions that collectively affect billions worldwide. With partners of the calibre of the CSIRO, Vision Cooperative Research Centre, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, LV Prasad Eye Institute and the University of Houston, we have created new technologies with the potential to revolutionise the vision correction market.

We have made such an impact before. A collaborative venture involving research partners and industry produced the silicone hydrogel polymer, which now dominates the soft contact lens market worldwide. Products developed by the Institute and our partners have brought more than $100 million in royalties into Australia to be reinvested into education, research and public health.

Recently our research efforts have led to novel discoveries with the potential to provide broader benefits to medicine. We have uncovered biomarkers in tears that may be used as a diagnostic tool for the early detection of diabetes, breast cancer and prostate cancer. Some of our investigations into the properties of proteins found in milk have led to the possibility of creating anti-bacterial coatings for a range of medical devices, including surgical instruments and prostheses, which will act to prevent bacterial infection.

These advances reaffirm our belief that the boundaries between disciplines that once existed no longer hinder our ability to innovate and it is only through an interdisciplinary approach that we will create truly inventive new solutions. This collaborative approach, utilising the best in research and industry, not only in Australia but internationally, has proven to be a successful formula and created a hugely beneficial network of researchers, educators and public health professionals from around the world.

The commercial successes of the Institute for Eye Research has enabled us to provide financial, infrastructure and human resources support to the activities of several humanitarian organisations committed to delivering eye care to the developing world and educating eye care workers to create sustainable eye care systems. It is incumbent on the global community, and the medical field in particular, to ensure that all people have access to basic health care.

The eye care community has taken the crucial first steps to providing eye care for all, through initiatives such as Vision 2020: the Right to Sight and the inaugural World Congress on Refractive Error and Service Development, which have acted to unify efforts and develop a global plan of action to eliminate avoidable blindness and vision impairment worldwide. Organisations such as the International Centre for Eyecare Education (ICEE) and Optometry Giving Sight are very important components of these plans.

Within Australia, the efforts of the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council to overcome the alarming gap in health care outcomes between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians have been remarkable. The recently established Aboriginal Health College at Little Bay in Sydney is a wonderful example of what that organisation and the Aboriginal community have so far achieved to build appropriate and sustainable Aboriginal health care services.

Australia is home to some of the most gifted and inspiring researchers, educators, practitioners and leaders in the health care field. Our inclination, partly due to our geographical location, to seek out ideas and opportunities beyond our own shores is a major strength. With the right support from government and industry we will continue to create better ways of overcoming disease and improving health care outcomes, for Australia and the world.