Smart Eye Emulator to understand glaucoma risk
Official title: SCH: SEEthroughGLAUCOMA: Smart Eye Emulator (SEE) to study glaucoma risk factors
Funded at University of Maine Orono · NIH-11182599 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project builds a computer 'eye emulator' to explain how eye pressure, blood pressure, age, and race influence glaucoma risk for people with or at risk for open-angle glaucoma.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Maine Orono NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Orono, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $217,817 |
| NIH project number | 5R01EY034718-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11182599 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults with open-angle glaucoma or those considered at elevated risk who have recorded eye pressure and blood pressure measurements and who represent diverse ages and racial backgrounds.
✕Less likely to help
People with non–open-angle glaucoma types (for example, angle-closure or congenital glaucoma) or those with advanced, end-stage vision loss are unlikely to benefit from this risk-modeling approach.
What this research studies
If I share my eye and blood pressure measurements or clinical data, researchers will use a computer model that mimics eye biomechanics to see how intraocular pressure (IOP) and blood pressure (BP) interact in my case. They combine clinical measurements with age, gender, and race information to create a fast, patient-specific emulator that estimates weighted contributions of different risk factors. The team aims to produce a tool clinicians can use to personalize care—focusing treatment on those at highest risk while avoiding unnecessary interventions for low-risk patients. The work relies mainly on computer modeling and clinical data rather than testing new medications.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help doctors tailor glaucoma treatment by identifying which patients truly need pressure-lowering therapy and which may be safely monitored.
How similar studies have gone: Prior research has linked blood pressure and intraocular pressure to glaucoma risk, but using a fast, individualized 'eye emulator' to weigh their relative contributions is a novel, translational approach.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Maine Orono
Orono, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Guidoboni, Giovanna — University of Maine Orono
- Study coordinator: Guidoboni, Giovanna
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.