Natalie Knox, a junior at Duke University, created an app that works to improve central vision for people with retinal scarring. Elderly people with diabetes often develop age-related macular degeneration, which can lead to scarring in the central vision. Natalie describes it to those of us who don’t understand this as well as something like going about your daily life with a softball-sized gap blocking your vision. Her app uses neural plasticity to train people to look around their scar, shifting it off to their peripheral vision so that they are able to see in their central vision again.
1) When did you first come up with the idea for the app?
I got interested in ophthalmology after Dr. Paul Hahn spoke at Delta Gamma’s Founders’ Day my freshman year. He inspired me to work in an ophthalmology office that summer, and after working with patients with Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), I saw a way that I could improve their daily living. People afflicted with AMD often develop ruptured blood vessels in their retina (lining of the back of the eye), which scars and leads to blind spots in their vision. If this scar occurs over their fovea, they’ll have central vision loss. My idea was that if you could train someone to “see around the scar,” they could restore their central vision. My app works like a game, and the more you play it, the more you strengthen your eye, and use neuroplasticity to effectively move your fovea, hence moving the scar off to the side and restoring vision.
2) How long before that idea became a reality?
After sketching out how exactly the app would work, I sent my ideas to my friend, Jeremy Schreck, who coded the app and helps with technical support. About six months after I came up with the idea, I had the app running.
3) What has been your biggest challenge?
The app’s initial testing went really well, and our first participant went from being legally blind to being able to complete New York Times crossword puzzles. However, my mentor and ophthalmologist through whose office we were doing clinical trials passed away recently, leading to an unexpected end to the clinical trial. I’m currently working with the Duke Eye Center in hopes of continuing the trials so that it can one day be used in eye care centers across the country. This has been a small setback in my efforts, but it certainly won’t derail my dream.
4) Do you receive a lot of support from the Duke community?
I’ve received TONS of support from my sisters in Delta Gamma, although it really hasn’t been advertised much on Duke’s campus so I can’t really say how much support I’ve gotten in general. I’m definitely hoping to be able to work with the Duke Eye Center, and from the few doctors and researchers I’ve talked to so far, I’ve gotten great feedback!
5) What are your goals for the app’s future?
In the future, I see this app as a way to revolutionize the treatment for AMD. It is currently the leading cause of blindness in Americans age 60 and older, so this has profound implications, especially as more and more Americans are developing diabetes, which leads to vision problems. Ideally, I would love to see my app used in conjunction with physician’s treatments in offices throughout the country