Introduction

Loss of eyesight is one of the most feared health conditions, with around 3% of the UK population living with it. There is a growing body of research by an increasing number of groups worldwide on the development of mathematical models describing the normal and pathological functioning of the eye.

The aim of our research is to improve the diagnosis and prognosis for serious conditions using mathematical modelling, which can, relatively inexpensively, test the plausibility of hypothetical mechanisms and treatments. In the longer term we seek to unify the existing mathematical and computational models of the eye into a Virtual Eye, incorporating the mechanical, chemical and physiological processes that are significant to its functioning.

We are a network of approximately 30 modellers and clinicians who meet regularly (both online and face-to-face) to study problems related to the human eye. We were founded in 2016 as a Special Interest Group of the UK Fluids Network.

In June 2022, we held a face-to-face meeting at the University of Bath setting out the foundations for the Virtual Eye, sponsored by the Macular Society. The primary outcome of this event was the `Roadmap to the Virtual Eye.’ Details of the meeting can be found here.

Since 2023, we have been supported by the Isaac Newton Institute `Network Support for the Mathematical Sciences’ through EPSRC grant EP/V521929/1. As a result of this support we will be running several face-to-face events in the next year, with the first to be held at University of Glasgow in January 2024.