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Dr Pauline Kang in the Myopia Control Clinic

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By Patrick Hutchens
Journalist

 

The University of New South Wales has opened a new Myopia Control Clinic in an effort to address the growing rates of myopia in Australia and to collect data on the most effective ways to slow the progression of the condition.

Data from the clinic will be used in research by the School of Optometry and Vision Science to help fine-tune and target treatments that prove to be effective with particular sets of patients.

The clinic runs Wednesdays from 9:30 am to 11:30 am and has so far seen most of its patients through referral from other clinics at the centre and from nearby optometry practices.

The clinic will be used to assist in the education of optometry students from the University of New South Wales, who in pairs will observe testing of patients.

Postdoctoral research fellow at the University of New South Wales School of Optometry and Vision Science, Dr Pauline Kang, said the team at the clinic hoped to look across different types of treatments for myopia to see how well they work against each other.

They will also examine whether the efficacy of intervention is assisted by using dual treatments.

Dr Kang said they had a range of instruments to take measurements that could not usually be done in clinical practice.

‘I guess that’s one of the unique services that we provide, things like measuring peripheral refraction, aberrometry and different types of OCTs. We also do things like atropine eye-drops, which are not used as much in mainstream practice,’ she said.

Clinic director Kathleen Watt said most of the treatments had previously been reported.

‘What we’re trying to do is to fine-tune which patients work well with which treatments to look at how certain biometrics may influence the results of the treatment,’ she said.

The clinic is extending an invitation to nearby optometrists to conduct myopia assessments for their patients and provide a summary of test results.

‘Because we have so many instruments that a lot of practitioners probably won’t have access to, we can take the patients in and take those measurements for them and give them a report and our opinion of the best management option for that particular patient,’ Dr Kang said.

For more information about the Myopia Control Clinic, email Dr Pauline Kang at p.kang@unsw.edu.au.

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