Felipe Medeiros, MD, PhD is the recipient of the Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Cogan Award, given annually to researcher age 45 or younger. The award will be presented on May 2 during the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Medeiros is recognized for his important and worthwhile contributions to research in ophthalmology and visual science which is directly related to disorders of the human eye or visual system and shows substantial promise for the future.
He joined Duke in August 2017. Medeiros has established the Duke Visual Performance Lab and leads the Duke Ophthalmology Clinical Research Unit. His accomplishments include:
- Devised and patented the nGoggle, a device that integrates electroencephalogram (EEG) and eye tracking to virtual reality (VR) goggles. The nGoggle is able to objectively measure brain waves elicited by visual stimuli presented on the VR goggles, enabling for the first time a portable and objective way for assessing visual function in subjects with eye diseases. The device is being used to detect visual field defects in patients with glaucoma, as well as to investigate brain responses as subjects navigate through a series of scenarios that replicate daily life, like searching for an object in a home, “wayfinding” through a cityscape, or driving a car. While the nGoggle is still in development, its portability, affordability, and ability to transmit data wirelessly offers potential for widespread use, like home-based testing.
- Developed an innovative virtual reality paradigm to assess risk of loss of balance and falls in subjects with eye diseases. In this test, subjects use VR goggles while standing on a force platform that measures every little wobble they make in response to visual stimuli designed to perturb their balance, while being secured by a harness system to prevent falls. The postural responses under this environment have been shown to be predictive of risk of falling.
- Applied driving simulation to investigate fitness to drive and develop innovative metrics for predicting driving risk in subjects with eye diseases. Based on the simulator studies, they have crafted simple, tablet-based tests that assess visual function parameters most relevant to driving performance.
- Built new testing algorithms for diagnosing and monitoring eye diseases, using innovative statistical and artificial intelligence frameworks. One of Medeiros’ algorithms, which combines data from conventional visual field testing with imaging from optical coherence tomography, has been shown to improve diagnosis, staging and detection of progression in glaucoma compared to conventional metrics. The algorithm is being incorporated into commercially available devices and Medeiros is currently exploring ways to integrate additional data for developing a comprehensive model for assessing risk and monitoring disease progression in subjects with glaucoma.
- Begun to create game-based testing of visual function, a particularly enticing prospect for practitioners who work with young patients. In this paradigm, subjects play a game while their visual fields are being tested in a fun, imperceptible and objective manner.