UAE conducts an innovative medical study

A medical study on diagnosing children undertaken in the UAE by a team of four consultants at Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai and Moorfields Eye Hospital Abu Dhabi, including Dr Irfan Khan supported by Dr Dk Khurram, Dr Syed Ali and Dr Igor Kozak, has achieved the distinction of becoming the first medical study undertaken entirely in the UAE to be published by the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Ophthalmology. Consultants involved in the study have already begun to share the results with colleagues at international scientific meetings.  

The medical study relates to a new procedure developed by Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai in collaboration with Moorfields Eye Hospital Abu Dhabi, to diagnose retinal problems in children and avoid the use of injections in the vein, which can be painful and frightening for children and worrying for parents. 

The new procedure (known as oral fundus fluorescein angiography or oral FFA) involves using a special coloured dye solution mixed into a sweet drink, which is then drunk by the child.

An ultra-widefield retinal imaging device then follows the flow of the dye into the eye and reveals the circulation of blood in the retina, which is a sensitive film at the back of the eye and plays a vital role in our vision. Traditionally, the coloured dye would have been injected into the child's vein, causing discomfort. 

The UAE study included 18 children who were imaged at Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai and Moorfields Eye Hospital Abu Dhabi, using this oral technique and advanced imaging device, with no side effects; and all of the patients have been treated successfully.

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