Day 6...

Apologies for the delay in posting the next update, but field work is not without its technical difficulties (electrical power/internet outages). In fact, we should be thankful we have electricity, let alone internet, at all!  Electricity was a luxury in scarce supply some 30 odd years ago out here!

Sunday, November 20, 2016: While a visual acuity test is common practice in optometry/ophthalmology, a visual field test is not. Unless you are suspected of having glaucoma, you are most likely not to undergo a visual field test. The basic premise behind this test is to assess your field of vision, specifically, your peripheral vision by fixating on a central, static light while indicating (by the click of a hand held button) when you see a blinking light appear in your peripheral vision. A key aspect of this test is to maintain your focus on the central light and not follow the blinking lights with your eyes otherwise the test becomes unreliable. In the next three photos we see Basudev ji getting the Humphrey Visual Field Analyzer ready before a female research participant is seated in front of the instrument ready to take the test.

Here's an example from the visual field test from one of our male research participants. He has a normal visual field in his right eye (the dark spot in the bottom right quadrant is where the optic nerve extends from the optic disc, i.e., the blind spot) but has an abnormal visual field in his left eye (denoted by the areas in grey/black, especially in the bottom right quadrant). Visual field loss in the left eye is due to normal tension glaucoma.

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Research in Jiri is now aided by mobile technology. In years gone by, to confirm familial information such as a grandfather’s place of birth or a mother’s clan may have taken a day or two to retrieve - individuals would have had to walk back to their village, retrieve the necessary information, then walk back to the researchers. Fast forward to today and all of this can be done by simply making a phone call.

The Jiri Eye Study is having an immediate impact on the research participants. In most parts of the developed world correcting vision may be as simple as seeing an optometrist/ophthalmologist and being prescribed eye glasses. However, in developing countries like Nepal, and especially in remote areas of Nepal like Jiri, this “simple” process may not be that simple. It is therefore rewarding to see (from a biomedical researcher’s perspective) the reaction on a research participant’s face when they put on reading glasses, probably for the first time. It’s as if the lights have been turned on and within that instant, letters and pictures on a piece of paper are clear and no longer blurred. With permission from two of the women collaborating with us on the study, we were able to take their picture after they put on their new reading glasses. I’ll admit it, I did get a ‘buzz’ to witness their initial reactions.

Today’s menu…

Breakfast: Masala omelet, toast, red kidney beans & potato, and coffee (coffee has been, and will continue to be an essential element of our breakfast!). A side-note on the warm beverage that kick starts our day: The coffee beans, provided by Dr. Brad ji (he picks up a couple of boxes of ground coffee in Bangkok, Thailand), are harvested by co-operatives of villages in northern Thailand.

Could not start the day without it!

Drs. Sarah ji, Sandy ji, and Brad ji go about the morning ritual.

Lunch: Achaar, saag, rice, green bean and Jiri aalu, Jiri aalu with two beans (the small darker beans are local to the region), and free-range chicken soup (the chickens were prepared earlier in the day).

Dinner: Soy bean, tomato, onion, garlic, chili mix (all local produce), and chicken momos.