Vision Matters!
Prevent Glaucoma in HK

Vision Matters: Glaucoma Ai-Rota Screening Project for the Over 50s a Pioneering Joint Initiative Between Orbis and Hku’s Department of Ophthalmology

Orbis and HKU’s Department of Ophthalmology are currently collaborating on a joint initiative called Vision Matters: Glaucoma AI-ROTA Screening Project for the over 50s. Running from June 2023 to May 2024, Phase 1 of the project will see invites sent out to some 3,000 randomly selected residents aged 50 or over from public housing estates in the Southern, Kwun Tong, and Tai Po districts of Hong Kong undergo glaucoma screening at (1) HKU Eye Centre, (2) 8/F, Block J, United Christian Hospital, and (3) Tai Po District Health Centre Express. A maximum of two eligible residents per household can book appointments online. The project's unique feature is its use of a patented technology called ROTA (‘Retinal nerve fiber layer Optical Texture Analysis’) that detects glaucoma in its early stages. Referral services will be provided for patients needing follow-up treatment in public or private eye clinics. Running from mid-2024 onwards, Phase II will then roll out tests for the over 50s in other districts.

Glaucoma Ai-Rota Screening Project for the Over 50s

Project Includes:

Professor Christopher K.S. Leung

Chairperson and Clinical Professor of HKU’s Department of Ophthalmology, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine

“Until now, glaucoma has not routinely been screened for due to a lack of reliably accurate testing tools. A real game changer, ROTA enables effective early diagnoses of the condition via non-invasive, contactless visualizing of optic nerve fibers on patients’ retinas.”

What Is Rota?

A patented technology developed by a HKU research team, ROTA enables direct high-resolution visualization of retinal nerve fibers using standard optical coherence tomography (‘OCT’) scans. This significantly improves the accuracy of early detection of glaucoma-related damage to optic nerves in and around the macula. ROTA offers increases of fully 30% in early diagnostic sensitivity over existing OCT retinal nerve fiber layer thickness analyses. The promising results have already been published in two leading academic journals – Nature Biomedical Engineering and Ophthalmology. A major advance in identifying previously undiagnosed glaucoma, ROTA will give ophthalmologists a much better understanding of the disease’s key risk factors and prevalence.