Capabilities

The Institute has a technology unit which provides specialised services as well as participating in collaborative research projects.  The Institute has also established Ethics Committees to assess research proposals from Institute and external groups.

• Optical engineering
• Biomedical engineering
• Mechanical engineering
• Industrial design
• Laboratory management
• Assessment of the ethical merit of scientific and teaching activities through accredited Ethics Committees

Activities

The Institute conducts technical projects and services to support its other research activities and in consultation with industry.

Development of Novel Research Instruments
The development of specialised optical instruments enables cutting-edge research within the Institute and associated organisations.  The instruments developed to date include a Contact Lens Microtensometer which allows high accuracy mechanical property measurements of contact lenses, polymers and biological materials; an Optical Quality Analyser which assesses the design and optical quality of contact lenses; a KE Profilometer which assesses the shape of a rigid contact lens, producing a complete 3-dimensional map of the lens shape with an accuracy of 2 µm; a Wet Profilometer to measure the thickness profiles of hydrated contact lenses; a modified Belmonte Aesthesiometer which supports research into ocular health and comfort by testing corneal sensitivity; and a lid tensometer to accurately quantify the tension of upper and lower eyelids.  These instruments are also of significant interest to other researchers and industry, and the Institute has produced some instruments for sale to other organisations.  Although the market for such specialised instrumentation is limited, their sale allows the Institute to recover development costs and serves to establish Institute technology as standard for these research applications. 

In support of clinical research, a number of new computerised vision testing methods were developed in the last year.  More sophisticated tests to ascertain visual acuity under various conditions have provided better feedback on the performance of contact lenses.

Rapid advancements in the area of contact lens manufacturing make it possible to cut ever more complex lens shapes. To utilise these new technologies to the full extent, novel software tools were also developed at the Institute in the last year to interactively design lenses with optimised surface features according to clinical and physiological requirements.

Laboratory Management
There are Microbiology, Biochemistry, Molecular, Histology, Radiation and Tissue culture laboratories in the Biological Science Department of the Institute for Eye Research.  Various studies and experiments are carried out by different research groups and postgraduate students in these laboratories, and the Institute aims to ensure a safe working environment for all of these.  General induction procedures are established for all new staff and students, involving an introduction to occupational health and safety, what to do and who to contact in case of emergency, and how to dispose of biological, chemical and radiation wastes.  Inventory for all chemicals and reagents stored in the department are available to allow easy location of chemicals.  Biological science manuals containing standard operating procedures for experiments and equipment are provided in each laboratory.

The Vision Cooperative Research Centre and Institute for Eye Research Ethics Committees
A major step forward for the Institute this year has been the establishment of Ethics Committees, in collaboration with the Vision CRC.  This has streamlined the approval of research projects being conducted by these organisations.  

The role of the Committees is to assess the ethical merit of scientific and teaching activities, and ensure that all research within the institutions is conducted in compliance with State, Federal and National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) codes of practices.  The Committees are also available to conduct ethics assessments for external research projects.