Swipe me! - Taxi Talk Magazine

Victorian supercomputer to
help fight glaucoma
Hundreds of thousands of Australians suffering from glaucoma will
have access to more accurate information about their deteriorating sight
thanks to the arrival of a new super computer at the University of Melbourne.
This is the most powerful supercomputer project dedicated to life sciences
research in the southern hemisphere and is set to help the medical
community fight diseases and improve the quality of life for thousands of people. The IBM Blue Gene supercomputer
will be used by researchers at the University of Melbourne-led Victorian Life Sciences Computation Initiative
(VLSCI). One of the main tools in the development of faster, more accurate eye tests is computer simulation
of tests that assess the whole field of vision. Currently these take days on a standard computer, but with Blue
Gene they can be done in minutes, allowing even more complex approaches to be evaluated.
Current clinical tests of the visual field are highly variable, and it can take several years to reliably determine
if vision is deteriorating due to glaucoma. The novel combination of data from both images of the optic nerve,
and the new visual field testing strategies, will hopefully markedly reduce this time.
Glaucoma is the second leading cause of irreversible vision loss in older Australians. Improving the accuracy
of detection and monitoring of vision loss greatly enhances a clinician’s ability to treat this disease. D
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Taxi Talk - voice of the taxi industry SEPTEMBER 2010