Promising study results presented in Age Related Macular Disease at ASRS using Optos’ new auto-fluorescence technology

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Optos to participate in major National Eye Institute study

LONDON, UK, 3 September 2010 – Optos plc (LSE: OPTS), a leading medical retinal imaging company, announced at the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) Annual Meeting held in Vancouver this week, promising clinical study results using Optos’ ultra-widefield auto-fluorescence retinal imaging in a study of Age Related Macular Disease (AMD).  The Company also announced it has been invited to join the major AREDS2 study into the disease.

A team of retina specialists at the Doheny Eye Institute, University of Southern California, led by Srinivas Sadda, MD, conducted the study using Optos’ ultra-widefield scanning technology have found that 76% of eyes in patients with AMD had peripheral abnormalities.  The addition of auto-fluorescence capability to retinal scanning technologies is seen to aid the detection of AMD.

122 patients examined in this study were seen at the Doheny Eye Institute Retina Service from November 2009 to April 2010.  Major disease groups studied included AMD, inflammatory disease, ocular tumours, central serous retinopathy, and retinal degenerations.  The study was initiated to investigate the frequency of peripheral abnormalities and to begin to understand if there are characteristic peripheral patterns that may be useful in the diagnosis or management of retinal disease.  This involved a retrospective analysis of the medical records of all patients referred to the Institute’s imaging unit for auto-fluorescence imaging, who also had additional ultra-widefield auto-fluorescence images obtained using Optos technology.  Demographic data, including disease diagnosis, was also collected for analysis.  Using the Optos images, 174 eyes showed peripheral changes outside the central pole area of the retina, the area viewed using standard narrow-field, 30-degree field of view imaging technology.

This study follows the recently published results from the Reykjavik/Moorfields study and adds to the growing body of evidence of the importance of studying the periphery of the retina in the diagnosis and management of AMD.

Optos will now join Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2), a nationwide study conducted by the National Eye Institute in some 4,200 subjects to determine methods to slow the progression of vision loss from AMD.  Optos’ wide-field auto-fluorescence devices will be used in monitoring the effectiveness of treatment in the patients.

Commenting, Dr. Sadda, the lead investigator, said:  "The clinical significance of these findings requires further investigation but demonstrates the importance of understanding changes in the periphery of the retina.  I am pleased Optos will join the nationwide AREDS2 study.  With this large, four thousand strong patient cohort, we will be able to investigate age-related changes in the periphery and their possible prognostic significance.” 

Emily Y. Chew, MD, Deputy Director of the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications at the National Eye Institute said:  “This ancillary study will help us further phenotype our patients, particularly for our genetic studies.  We are delighted to be collaborating with Optos and our AREDS2 investigator, Thomas Friberg, MD will lead this effort.”

”Roy Davis, CEO of Optos, commented:  “We are pleased to be joining AREDS2 and to be working with leading researchers, such as the group at the Doheny Eye Institute.  The results from this study further prove the value of our technology in shedding new light on diseases and pathologies present in the retina.  We are delighted to see our auto-fluorescence capability being used in this important work looking at crucial changes in the aging eye that can lead to blindness.”

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Notes to Editors (Images available upon request)

AREDS2
The Age Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) by the National Eye Institute (USA) has shown that the AREDS vitamin protocol can radically slow the progression of dry age related macular degeneration (AMD).  Dry AMD is the most common form of AMD, affecting mainly adults age 65 and older.  The AREDS formulation is the only proven treatment for dry AMD in helping people at high risk for developing advanced AMD keep their remaining vision.  AREDS 2 will further investigate the treatment, prognosis, and risk factors for the development and progression of AMD.  AMD causes vision loss because of adverse changes in the macula that ultimately cause death of the photoreceptors.  However there are many age-related changes in the periphery that may influence, or be the precursors, of macular degenerations.  Diagnosing and monitoring changes in the periphery may become an indispensible tool to fully understand how to treat AMD.

About Optos Plc
Optos plc is a leading retinal imaging company.  Our vision is to be recognised as the leading provider of retinal diagnostics through leveraging our unique wide-field imaging technology.  Both eye and non-eye diseases often first exhibit in the periphery of the retina.  These are very difficult to detect clinically with conventional examination equipment and techniques.  Optos' devices produce ultra-widefield, high resolution images of approximately 82% of the retina, something no other device is capable of doing in any one image.  The images provide optometrists and ophthalmologists with enhanced clinical information which facilitates the early detection, management and treatment of disorders and diseases evidenced in the retina such as retinal detachments and tears, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.  Retinal imaging can also indicate evidence of non-eye or systemic diseases such as hypertension and certain cancers. 

Optos has a range of medical devices that support different customer segments and patient levels: the P200 device is concentrated on wellness screening carried out by optometrists and ophthalmologists in primary care; the P200C device is designed to meet the need for more exacting clinical imaging capabilities and standards in secondary care within the ophthalmology market and at optometric practices that are clinically managing a patient base with advanced ocular disease; and the P200MA device supports retinal specialists, working primarily with a diabetic patient base, in the medical care market through an advanced medical angiography procedure.  Optos' technology provides an unequalled combination of wide-field retinal imaging, speed and convenience for the practitioner and patient resulting in more targeted treatment regimes and improved patient outcomes.  75% of all blindness can be treated or prevented if diagnosed early enough and our Optos technology supports this objective.

For more information please visit our website www.optos.com.