Chief Supervisor

Dr Jeffrey LEUNG

Project Title

Synopsis

Refractive error is an optical imperfection of the eye in which the image foci from infinity objects fail to fall on the retina, resulting in blurred images when accommodation is relaxed. The various forms of refractive error are myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. In the Asian Chinese population, the prevalence of myopia is rapidly increasing, affecting over 80% of the young adult population. However, until now, the mechanism for refractive error development is still not well understood. Recent studies have indicated that not only the fovea, where the photoreceptor cells are densely packed, but the peripheral retina also contributes to refractive error development and eye growth. Because off-axis astigmatism, an inherent optical aberration of the eye, dominates in the peripheral visual fields, we hypothesize a feedback loop that uses off-axis astigmatism as a visual cue to control eye growth. This study will employ an experimental approach using the chick model to investigate the effect of off-axis astigmatism on refractive error development.