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Latest News from the OPTIC Lab

The American Glaucoma Society meeting showcased research led by one of our PGY4 residents, Mike Morano. Titled "An Assessment of the Economic Cost of Primary Open Angle Glaucoma Treatment and Management by Disease Severity," the project examined the real‑world financial burden of primary open‑angle glaucoma. The study highlighted how the economic impact of glaucoma rises sharply with disease progression—not only through medical costs, but through lost work and daily productivity, especially for younger individuals. This work underscores the importance of early intervention and offers a practical framework for tailoring treatment decisions to both disease severity and a patient’s financial circumstances.

The OPTIC Lab had 2 poster acceptances to the American Academy of Ophthalmology 2025 in Orlando, Florida. Dalal Ahmidouch, one of our student researchers from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. She presented on our topic: Archetype Analysis Reveals Limitations of MD-Based Classification of Functional Vision Loss From Glaucoma. The study showed that the mean deviation classification of glaucoma fails to account for functional patterns of vision loss. 

Dongyin Hu's research, led by Dr. Al-Aswad, Dr. Zhao, and Dr. Lee, was featured by Penn Engineering on their LinkenIn page. This innovation tracks blink patterns to assess mental state. The research was also presented at a recent conference, Mobisys. Clinck here to access LinkedIn and here to access the full paper.