Explaining what your research is about in a clear and concise way isn’t easy, especially if your audience has little or no prior knowledge of the subject. That’s why UAntwerp organises PRESS>SPEAK, an annual writing and presenting competition for young researchers taking their first steps in science communication. Every year, the winners of the writing contest are featured on the Pintra blog.
For the PRESS>SPEAK writing competition, researchers were instructed to explain their research in a text of three paragraphs of max. 150 words. They also had to come up with a pithy title, a striking subtitle, and a picture illustrating the difference their research aims to make in society. The first winning text of 2023, written by Hosna Ghaderi (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences), is about a revolution in eye surgery.
Need eye surgery and worried about the results?
Imagine this: You visit the eye doctor, and with the push of a button, a virtual replica of your eye springs to life! This is exactly what my Ph.D. research aims to achieve, creating personalized 3D models of the eye that will help surgeons rehearse operations before performing them on patients. Get ready for a revolution in eye surgery!
For decades, scientists have used models of the human eye to better understand how it works. These help explain what happens when we look at things. But these models do not take shape changes of the eye into account, such as during growth or accommodation, the process by which the eye lens reshapes to let you focus on objects at various distances. This leads to reduced accuracy when predicting surgical outcomes and limits our understanding of certain eye diseases.
To address this issue, I am developing a model that includes the mechanics of the eye. This will give a better understanding of how the eye works and make surgical procedures safer and more effective. My model is unique because, for the first time ever, it considers the individual differences between people’s eyes, which improves the quality of the predictions of what will happen during and after surgery!
Advanced Eye Model: Safer Surgery, Better Outcomes!
The model allows testing new surgical methods before trying them on patients, reducing risks and increasing the success rate of surgeries. Considering the differences between people’s eyes, this new model will open up new avenues for research and improved quality of life for those with eye conditions.
