Research – Welcome page

Welcome to the Research section of the BIOS website!

Orthoptics is a small profession, but many BIOS members are very active in collecting the evidence that helps us help our patients, as well as advancing vision science. British orthoptists are among the world leaders in our field. We publish and present our research in international journals and at professional conferences around the world. Orthoptists have secured many millions of pounds in research funding for major projects.

Most of us went into Orthoptics because we wanted to help patients, but some of us get hooked on research and carry it out research at every level, right from small local projects to world class lab science.

This page will give you a flavour of what is going on.

Who is researching?

Lots of us!

All undergraduates are taught research skills and most departments do small scale local audits and service evaluations to monitor standards of care, identify gaps, and implement change.  This grass roots research is shared within hospital trusts, but is often the stepping stone for novice researchers.  These audits help the professions identify the right questions for more scientific study.

Most of us keep up to date by going to training days and clinical conferences. Many clinical orthoptists do small scale local or personal research projects share the results in clinical publications and conferences.

Some of us “get the research bug” and take things further by gaining research qualifications and getting external funding for larger scale projects. We have many orthoptists with Master’s degrees and PhDs– all of which have done research to get there. We have Orthoptics Professors at leading universities.

At the highest levels there are world class experts and labs in a range of topics. Because Orthoptics is an international field, British orthoptics research influences eye care professions  across the world

What are we researching?

Too much to go into detail here, but, for example we have world leaders in

• Visual problems in stoke survivors https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/psychology-health-and-society/departments/health-services-research/research/vision/
• Focusing for close work and the causes of squint and eye strain. https://research.reading.ac.uk/childrens-vision/
• Clinical tests of vision and stereovision
• Nystagmus https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/oncology-metabolism/research/ophthalmology-orthoptics/research/nystagmusinfo
• Quality of life associated with double vision, squint surgery, thyroid eye disease
• Vision screening

Visit some of these websites for more details, and check our News section for highlights of what is going on at the moment.

Could you get involved?

Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) is increasingly being recognised as being vital to drive and contribute to research – from the planning stage right up to spreading the word about the results. If you would like to get involved as a lay advisor for researchers, contact Kerry Hanna, BIOS Research Director, [email protected] who may be able to point you in the right direction.

BIOS members can find out more about current research and how to get started here.