By Anna Mayor, University Communications and Marketing and USF Health
At first, it was just halos appearing around the lights on the basketball court.
As a teenager, John Storms didn’t think the subtle changes in his vision were serious.
But glaucoma was slowly damaging his optic nerve – the pathway that carries sight
signals to the brain. It’s something he’s been dealing with for nearly 30 years.
Known as the “silent thief of sight,” glaucoma causes pressure to gradually build
in the eye. It rarely feels urgent, and like Storms, many patients don’t see a doctor
until their vision loss has progressed significantly.
As his vision continued to get hazier into adulthood, Storms was prescribed eye drops
that he used for the following 10 years. But the drops were not enough. At follow-up
visits, his eye pressure continued to rise, and he was told he would need surgery
to prevent vision loss.
USF Health ophthalmologist Dr. Ramesh S. Ayyala saved Storms’ vision and relieved the pressure by placing stents in both eyes.
Five years later, Ayyala continues to monitor Storms’ condition every three months.
While the surgery preserved Storms’ vision, managing glaucoma remains a lifelong process.
Monitoring changes in vision associated with glaucoma requires constant vigilance,
with regular appointments and testing that can be time-consuming, costly and difficult
for patients to maintain.
“Patients have to come to us for regular testing, using expensive equipment in specialized
clinics and many simply don’t come often enough,” said Ayyala, the James P. and Heather
Gills Endowed Chair and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology in the USF Health
Morsani College of Medicine.
That challenge inspired Ayyala and his colleagues at the University of South Florida
to rethink how, and where, glaucoma is detected.
He is leading a study of GlaucTest, an investigational AI-powered app that allows
patients to perform visual field testing at home using their own smartphone, a low-cost
virtual reality headset and a handheld clicker.
Currently in the research stage, Ayyala’s goal is to replicate the gold-standard Humphrey
Visual Field Analyzer found in clinics. Ayyala hopes the technology could transform
the test that typically costs $30,000 in equipment into an at-home experience for
about $42. After the patient performs the five-minute test per eye, results are securely
uploaded for their ophthalmologist’s review.
Traditional glaucoma exams are conducted using the Humphrey Visual Field Analyzer
[Photo by Frederick Coleman, USF Health]
The patent-pending GlaucTest is designed for at-home use [Photo by Frederick Coleman,
USF Health]
Paired with a virtual reality headset, the AI-powered app runs on the patient’s smartphone
[Photo by Frederick Coleman, USF Health]
“We want to use technology to move to a place where physicians monitor patients remotely
while they test themselves at home,” Ayyala explained. “The goal is to give the power
to the patient, the best way to manage chronic diseases like glaucoma.”
For Storms, the technology represents more than convenience. It helps ease the uncertainty
that comes with living with glaucoma.
“With a product like Dr. Ayyala’s I could test much more frequently – every month,
or even every couple of weeks – and see if anything has changed. With traditional
testing once a year, a lot can happen in that time,” Storms said.
“I’m very grateful to be able to work with Dr. Ayyala and his team at USF to trial
GlaucTest and provide feedback. It has given me a feeling of having more control over
my glaucoma and I’m hopeful it can help others very soon.”
John Storms
To help bring the technology to patients, Ayyala founded GlaucHome to license the patent-pending technology and advance GlaucTest toward commercialization.
Developed at USF, GlaucTest is advancing through a new Technology Transfer Office
initiative, the USF Ventures Launch Program, which moves USF’s most promising inventions out of the lab and into companies best
positioned to commercialize.
“Disruptive research shouldn’t die on a lab bench,” said Diana Shapiro, executive-in-residence
for USF Research, Innovation and Commercialization and acting CEO for GlaucHome under the USF Ventures Launch Program. “Working with
the commercialization triage team, we’re deliberately selective, every technology
has to clear our proprietary IP Commercial Assessment before it advances. GlaucTest
cleared that bar, and GlaucHome is the company built to carry it forward.”
For millions worldwide, GlaucTest could mean the difference between early detection
and irreversible vision loss, a long-term goal Ayyala hopes to achieve upon completion
of the research and regulatory review.
“This is a first step in the right direction, delivering technology to patients everywhere
and making it possible for them to keep their vision,” he said.
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