About My Research
Center/Research Area Affiliations
Biography
At Schepens Eye Research Institute of Mass Eye and Ear, Dr. Woods' research primarily focuses on vision impairment and rehabilitation. He is developing and evaluating methods to modify the appearance of video from television, movies, and other formats. He also seeks to understand the visual input to pedestrian mobility and evaluates devices that help restore mobility that is lost due to vision impairment. Recent novel methods include improvements to gaze-contingent display systems and a method to assess the acquisition of sensory information (e.g., can you understand what you see?). Currently, he is developing a method to measure cognitive impairments and testing a novel method of treating visuo-spatial neglect.
Education
1980: BOptom (with honors), University of New South Wales, Australia
1991: MCOptom, College of Optometrists, UK
1992: PhD, Visual Science, The City University, UK
Postgraduate Training
1992-1995: Postdoctoral Fellow (vision science),Queensland University of Technology
1996: Research Fellow (vision science),Glasgow Caledonian University
1999-2001: Research Associate (vision rehabilitation),Schepens Eye Research Instituteof Mass. Eye and Ear
- Higher testosterone is associated with higher HDL-cholesterol and lower triglyceride concentrations in older women: an observational study. Climacteric. 2024 Feb 12; 1-7.
- An Adjustable Magnetic Levator Prosthesis for Customizable Eyelid Reanimation in Severe Blepharoptosis II: Randomized Evaluation of Angular Translation. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2023 12 01; 12(12):1.
- Microcephaly and chorioretinopathy associated with TUBGCP4: a case report and a review of the literature. Ophthalmic Genet. 2023 Dec; 44(6):585-590.
- Sex hormones, SHBG and cognitive performance among older Australian women: an observational study. Climacteric. 2023 04; 26(2):121-128.
- Further evaluation of narrative description as a measure of cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease. Neuropsychology. 2023 Oct; 37(7):801-812.
- Effects of Perceptual-motor Training on Collision Judgments with Peripheral Prism Expanded Vision. Optom Vis Sci. 2022 12 01; 99(12):875-884.
- The Effect of Zoom Magnification and Large Display on Video Comprehension in Individuals With Central Vision Loss. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2021 07 01; 10(8):30.
- Saccade Landing Point Prediction Based on Fine-Grained Learning Method. IEEE Access. 2021; 9:52474-52484.
- An implementation of Bubble Magnification did not improve the video comprehension of individuals with central vision loss. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2021 07; 41(4):842-852.
- Combined blockade of complement C5 and TLR co-receptor CD14 synergistically inhibits pig-to-human corneal xenograft induced innate inflammatory responses. Acta Biomater. 2021 06; 127:169-179.
- The Impact of Field of View on Understanding of a Movie Is Reduced by Magnifying Around the Center of Interest. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2020 07; 9(8):6.
- Orientation of the preferred retinal locus (PRL) is maintained following changes in simulated scotoma size. J Vis. 2020 07 01; 20(7):25.
- Validation of a vision-related activity scale for patients with retinitis pigmentosa. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2020 Jun 22; 18(1):196.
- Evaluation of Two Strategies for Alleviating the Impact on the Circadian Cycle of Smartphone Screens. Optom Vis Sci. 2020 03; 97(3):207-217.
- Narrative video scene description task discriminates between levels of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease. Neuropsychology. 2020 May; 34(4):437-446.
- A free database of eye movements watching Hollywood videoclips. Data Brief. 2019 Aug; 25:103991.
- When Watching Video, Many Saccades Are Curved and Deviate From a Velocity Profile Model. Front Neurosci. 2018; 12:960.
- People With Central Vision Loss Have Difficulty Watching Videos. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2019 01 02; 60(1):358-364.
- Peripheral Prisms Improve Obstacle Detection during Simulated Walking for Patients with Left Hemispatial Neglect and Hemianopia. Optom Vis Sci. 2018 09; 95(9):795-804.
- Measuring the Difficulty Watching Video With Hemianopia and an Initial Test of a Rehabilitation Approach. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2018 Jul; 7(4):13.
- People with Hemianopia Report Difficulty with TV, Computer, Cinema Use, and Photography. Optom Vis Sci. 2018 05; 95(5):428-434.
- Evaluation of choroidal lesions with swept-source optical coherence tomography. Br J Ophthalmol. 2019 01; 103(1):88-93.
- Dynamic gaze-position prediction of saccadic eye movements using a Taylor series. J Vis. 2017 12 01; 17(14):3.
- The Preferred Retinal Locus Used to Watch Videos. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2017 12 01; 58(14):6073-6081.
- Blur Adaptation to Central Retinal Disease. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2017 07 01; 58(9):3646-3655.
- Quantifying Fundus Autofluorescence in Patients With Retinitis Pigmentosa. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2017 03 01; 58(3):1843-1855.
- Quantitative Fundus Autofluorescence in Best Vitelliform Macular Dystrophy: RPE Lipofuscin is not Increased in Non-Lesion Areas of Retina. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2016; 854:285-90.
- Asymmetry in the Collision Judgments of People With Homonymous Field Defects and Left Hemispatial Neglect. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2015 Jun; 56(6):4135-42.
- Quantitative Fundus Autofluorescence and Optical Coherence Tomography in PRPH2/RDS- and ABCA4-Associated Disease Exhibiting Phenotypic Overlap. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2015 May; 56(5):3159-70.
- From small to large, all saccades follow the same timeline. J Vis. 2015; 15(12):73.
- Direct measurement of the system latency of gaze-contingent displays. Behav Res Methods. 2014 Jun; 46(2):439-47.
- Quantitative fundus autofluorescence in recessive Stargardt disease. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2014 May 01; 55(5):2841-52.
- Measuring information acquisition from sensory input using automated scoring of natural-language descriptions. PLoS One. 2014; 9(4):e93251.
- Quantitative fundus autofluorescence and optical coherence tomography in best vitelliform macular dystrophy. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2014 Mar 13; 55(3):1471-82.
- Factors affecting enhanced video quality preferences. IEEE Trans Image Process. 2013 Dec; 22(12):5146-57.
- Quantitative fundus autofluorescence in healthy eyes. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2013 Aug 21; 54(8):5684-93.
- Trajectory prediction of saccadic eye movements using a compressed exponential model. J Vis. 2013 Jul 31; 13(8).
- Crowdsourcing a normative natural language dataset: a comparison of Amazon Mechanical Turk and in-lab data collection. J Med Internet Res. 2013 May 20; 15(5):e100.
- Psychophysical contrast calibration. Vision Res. 2013 Sep 20; 90:15-24.
- Electronic magnification and perceived contrast of video. J Soc Inf Disp. 2012 Nov 01; 20(11):616-623.
- Effects of contour enhancement on low-vision preference and visual search. Optom Vis Sci. 2012 Sep; 89(9):E1364-73.
- Quantitative measurements of autofluorescence with the scanning laser ophthalmoscope. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2011 Dec 09; 52(13):9379-90.
- Psychometric functions for detection and discrimination with and without flankers. Atten Percept Psychophys. 2011 Apr; 73(3):829-53.
- Television, computer and portable display device use by people with central vision impairment. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2011 May; 31(3):258-74.
- Visual field size criteria for mobility rehabilitation referral. Optom Vis Sci. 2010 Dec; 87(12):E948-57.
- A relationship between tolerance of blur and personality. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2010 Nov; 51(11):6077-82.
- Extended wearing trial of Trifield lens device for 'tunnel vision'. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2010 May; 30(3):240-52.
- Shape and individual variability of the blur adaptation curve. Vision Res. 2010 Jul 09; 50(15):1452-61.
- Inattentional blindness with the same scene at different scales. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2010 Mar; 30(2):124-31.
- DLP-based dichoptic vision test system. J Biomed Opt. 2010 Jan-Feb; 15(1):016011.
- IMAGE ENHANCEMENT FOR IMPAIRED VISION: THE CHALLENGE OF EVALUATION. Int J Artif Intell Tools. 2009 Jun; 18(3):415-438.
- Collision judgment when using an augmented-vision head-mounted display device. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2009 Sep; 50(9):4509-15.
- Clinical and laboratory evaluation of peripheral prism glasses for hemianopia. Optom Vis Sci. 2009 May; 86(5):492-502.
- Inattentional blindness and augmented-vision displays: effects of cartoon-like filtering and attended scene. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2008 May; 28(3):204-17.
- Limbal and bulbar hyperaemia in normal eyes. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2008 Jan; 28(1):13-20.
- Measuring perceived video quality of MPEG enhancement by people with impaired vision. J Opt Soc Am A Opt Image Sci Vis. 2007 Dec; 24(12):B174-87.
- A Feedback-Controlled Interface for Treadmill Locomotion in Virtual Environments. ACM Trans Appl Percept. 2007 Jan; 4(1):7.
- Where people look when watching movies: do all viewers look at the same place? Comput Biol Med. 2007 Jul; 37(7):957-64.
- A low-power, LED-based, high-brightness anomaloscope. Vision Res. 2006 Oct; 46(22):3775-81.
- How red is a white eye? Clinical grading of normal conjunctival hyperaemia. Eye (Lond). 2007 May; 21(5):633-8.
- Thresholds vary between spatial and temporal forced-choice paradigms: the case of lateral interactions in peripheral vision. Spat Vis. 2005; 18(1):99-127.
- Facilitation of contrast detection in near-peripheral vision. Vision Res. 2004 Dec; 44(27):3193-202.
- Tracking the line of primary gaze in a walking simulator: modeling and calibration. Behav Res Methods Instrum Comput. 2004 Nov; 36(4):757-70.
- Wideband enhancement of television images for people with visual impairments. J Opt Soc Am A Opt Image Sci Vis. 2004 Jun; 21(6):937-50.
- Preferred retinal locus and reading rate with four dynamic text presentation formats. Optom Vis Sci. 2004 Mar; 81(3):205-13.
- Contour integration in peripheral vision reduces gradually with eccentricity. Vision Res. 2003 Oct; 43(23):2427-37.
- Comparison of monochromatic ocular aberrations measured with an objective cross-cylinder aberroscope and a Shack-Hartmann aberrometer. Optom Vis Sci. 2003 Jan; 80(1):15-25.
- Stereoacuity at distance and near. Optom Vis Sci. 2002 Dec; 79(12):771-8.
- Vision and mobility performance of subjects with age-related macular degeneration. Optom Vis Sci. 2002 Nov; 79(11):697-707.
- Lateral interactions: size does matter. Vision Res. 2002 Mar; 42(6):733-45.
- Economic costs of cataract surgery using a rigid and a foldable intraocular lens. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2001 Jul; 21(4):262-7.
- Eye movements and reading with large print and optical magnifiers in macular disease. Optom Vis Sci. 2001 May; 78(5):325-34.
- Clinical grading of the upper palpebral conjunctiva of non-contact lens wearers. Optom Vis Sci. 2001 Jan; 78(1):13-8.
- Clinical grading of corneal staining of non-contact lens wearers. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2001 Jan; 21(1):30-5.
- Measuring contrast sensitivity with inappropriate optical correction. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2000 Nov; 20(6):442-51.
- Oral and silent reading performance with macular degeneration. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2000 Sep; 20(5):360-70.
- Effects of defocus and pupil size on human contrast sensitivity. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 1999 Sep; 19(5):415-26.
- A comparison of visual performance between a rigid PMMA and a foldable acrylic intraocular lens. Eye (Lond). 1999 Jun; 13 ( Pt 3a):329-35.
- Screening for ophthalmic disease in older subjects using visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. Ophthalmology. 1998 Dec; 105(12):2318-26.
- Predicting the effects of optical defocus on human contrast sensitivity. J Opt Soc Am A Opt Image Sci Vis. 1998 Sep; 15(9):2536-44.
- Subjective depth-of-focus of the eye. Optom Vis Sci. 1997 Jul; 74(7):511-20.
- Spatial frequency dependent observer bias in the measurement of contrast sensitivity. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 1996 Nov; 16(6):513-9.
- Monocular diplopia caused by ocular aberrations and hyperopic defocus. Vision Res. 1996 Nov; 36(22):3597-606.
- Consequences of monocular diplopia for the contrast sensitivity function. Vision Res. 1996 Nov; 36(22):3587-96.
- Effects of exercise on aspects of visual function. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 1995 Jan; 15(1):5-12.
- Exercise does not increase visual field sensitivity. Optom Vis Sci. 1994 Nov; 71(11):682-4.
- Reliability of visual performance measurement under optical degradation. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 1993 Apr; 13(2):143-50.
- Optical performance of decentered bifocal contact lenses. Optom Vis Sci. 1993 Mar; 70(3):171-84.
Show More
Show Less
Vision Impairment
Central vision impairment is the most common vision impairment in developed countries due to the prevalence of age-related macular degeneration. It causes problems with reading, facial recognition, and watching television. Dr. Woods has investigated factors that may impair reading performance, and he has evaluated the potential benefits of electronically displayed reading material. Video (digital moving images)—whether from the television, computer, or mobile device—are a common source of entertainment and information. Therefore, Dr. Woods is evaluating methods to modify the appearance of videos in the hope that it will help people with vision impairments.
Restriction of the visual fields (extent of vision) is the major factor that causes reduced mobility among people with visual impairments. If you have no visual field (blind) or a severely restricted visual field ("tunnel vision"), then orientation and mobility is not easy. However, it is not clear whether all parts of the visual field contribute equally to our ability to move safely and efficiently through the environment, nor at what level of deficit people would benefit from rehabilitation (e.g., orientation and mobility training). Therefore, Dr. Woods conducts studies to understand the visual input to mobility. In addition, devices that restore lost vision are evaluated. Mobility studies include assessments of basic vision (i.e., how the visual system works), how people move through the real world and through virtual worlds (e.g., a simulated shopping mall), and how that relates to quality of life.
Helping Clinicians Use and Evaluate Tests
Dr. Woods has shown how a simple clinical measurement of contrast sensitivity (the ability to detect objects of low contrast) can be used as a screening test for ocular disease among older people. Clinical grading allows clinicians to compare the status of one patient between practitioners and across time with greater precision than the use of descriptive words, such as "slight" or "severe." Dr. Woods proposed a numeric system that could be used across a wide variety of clinical conditions and appearances. Since then, he has evaluated the use of these grading scales in a series of small studies.