Macular degeneration is the leading cause of irreversible sight loss in the developed world. It typically affects people over 50, gradually damaging the area at the back of the eye responsible for sharp, detailed central vision.
The condition involves a breakdown of the Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE), leading to a build-up of waste deposits called drusen. This damage is driven by a combination of oxidative stress, inflammation, cell loss, and mitochondrial dysfunction.
At Simon Falk Eyecare, led by Leah Khan, we selected the EyeLight system for specific clinical reasons that we believe benefit our patients most.
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Many patients with dry AMD also experience dry eye disease. The EyeLight mask covers the entire peri-orbital area, meaning both conditions can be treated at the same time.
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The EyeLight mask rests gently on the face, allowing you to relax during your session. There is no need to sit upright or maintain a fixed position, ensuring the correct dosage is delivered comfortably every time.
EyeLight uses specific red and yellow wavelengths to target the mitochondria in your retinal cells, boosting ATP production and helping your cells repair and maintain themselves.
The initial course consists of 8 sessions, carried out twice a week for 4 weeks. Both eyes are treated simultaneously.
Following the initial course, maintenance treatments are recommended every 6 months, consisting of 6 sessions over 3 weeks.
Before treatment begins, you'll have a consultation with one of our macular degeneration trained optometrists. We'll discuss your current condition, the likelihood of progression, and answer any questions you have. An OCT scan of your macula is typically taken at the consultation, just before the final treatment session, and four months after.
While there is no cure for dry AMD, clinical studies have shown that EyeLight can:
Reduce central drusen volume
Improve best corrected vision in some patients
Improve contrast sensitivity
Results vary from patient to patient, but we have strong data to support recommending EyeLight to anyone with mild to moderate dry AMD.
Yes. EyeLight is a CE-marked medical device used by optometrists and ophthalmologists worldwide. There are a small number of things to be aware of:
The light is bright, so you may feel briefly dazzled afterwards. This won't affect driving or daily activities
Sun protection is recommended during and for two weeks after treatment
Patients taking light-sensitising medication may not be suitable. This will be discussed at your consultation
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The optometrist will carry out a series of tests to check for any visual or eye health problems. These tests help to rule out any other causes of symptoms such as needing spectacles, or a binocular vision (eye muscle) problem. The optometrist will also look at the eye in detail to make sure it is healthy. This part is essential even if a recent eye examination has been carried out elsewhere as it contains tests that may have not been performed as part of the standard eye examination.
This appointment is usually carried out by a dispensing optician. We have a range of overlays (coloured perspex sheets) to try. Each sheet is tried in turn to determine which gives the most comfortable vision. The best overlays are then used with a Wilkins rate of reading test. This is a test to measure the reading speed with and without the overlay to see if any benefit is obtained. At the end of this appointment cycloplegic drops are often instilled into the patient’s eyes, particularly in children and young adults. These drops relax the accommodation and take about thirty minutes to work.
(not always necessary with adults, the optometrist will advise)
After thirty minutes have passed, the patient will see the optometrist again for a short eye test to see whether there is any increased prescription with the accommodation relaxed. This is necessary as the symptoms of eyestrain and slow reading may be caused by an undetected need for spectacles. As children have a lot of natural focus they sometimes over focus during the normal eye test and therefore are found to have normal vision, when in fact they need spectacles. With the accommodation relaxed this can easily be determined and spectacles can be prescribed if necessary. The optometrist will go through the results of all the tests following discussion with the patient, or parent, the course of action can be determined.
You don't need to travel far to access world-class Photobiomodulation therapy. Our team in Leeds is here to help.