DARC test illuminates glaucoma progression

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A test dubbed DARC can detect glaucoma progression 18 months earlier than the current gold standard method, according to results from a UCL-sponsored clinical trial.

The technology, supported by an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm, could help accelerate clinical trials and eventually be used in a wider range of detection and diagnostics. The Wellcome-funded study is published in Expert Review of Molecular Diagnostics.

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"We have developed a quick, automated and highly sensitive way to identify which people with glaucoma are at risk of rapid progression to blindness," said lead researcher Professor Francesca Cordeiro, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, Imperial College London, and Western Eye Hospital Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Glaucoma is caused by the death of cells in the retina and is the leading global cause of irreversible blindness.

According to UCL, the DARC (Detection of Apoptosing Retinal Cells) test involves injecting into the bloodstream a fluorescent dye that attaches to retinal cells, and illuminates those that are in the process of apoptosis, which is describe as a form of programmed cell death. The damaged cells appear bright white when viewed in eye examinations.

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