OUR MISSION: We lead by advancing the scientific understanding of preventable blindness through the interpretation of ophthalmic images in translational research and by our collaboration and leadership in the conduct and analysis of clinical and epidemiological trials.
To support our mission, we promote innovation, service and learning in ophthalmic imaging research.
We are the core image reading lab within the University of Wisconsin – Madison Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences studying diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, uveitis and other ophthalmic diseases. The Wisconsin Reading Center (WRC), formerly known as the Fundus Photograph Reading Center (FPRC), was founded on the enduring principles of intellectual honesty, quality, relevance, innovation and staff satisfaction.
We serve a wide range of academic institutions, foundations, pharmaceutical companies and biotech firms including the National Eye Institute, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases, Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network and the Department of Defense.
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Meet the Team
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Services
For early phase clinical trials, we offer a streamlined approach tailored to the needs of the study and sponsor.
Consultation on protocol design
Project management
Image analysis
Certification and regulatory compliance
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Workflow
- Consultation on protocol design
- Defining ocular disease outcomes
- Study protocol/start-up training
- On-site/off-site and web-based training on imaging protocols
- Certification of photography equipment and operators
- Project management
- Electronic upload of digital images
- DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) conversion
- Inventory tracking
- Query monitoring
- Image quality monitoring and reporting
- Reproducibility reports for evaluation data
- Collaboration on manuscript preparation
- Storage and archival of study images
Evaluation Types
- Diabetic retinopathy
- Age-related macular degeneration
- Macular edema
- Vein occlusion
- Infectious and non-infectious uveitis
- Cytomegalovirus retinitis
- Lens opacities
- Glaucoma and neurodegenerative diseases
- Safety studies to monitor toxicity
Image Evaluations
- Optical Coherence Tomography (quantitative and layer analysis)
- Fundus autofluorescence (scanning laser ophthalmoscopy and camera-based)
- Color fundus photography
- Fluorescein and indocyanine green angiograms
- Red reflex, retroillumination and slit lamp lens photographs
Regulatory Compliance
- Independent Quality Assurance workgroup, reporting directly to the General Manager
- WRC documentation is compliant with ICH (International Conference on Harmonisation) guidelines and global regulatory requirements
- WRC developed software is compliant with 21 Code of Federal Regulations Part 11, ICH and other applicable global regulatory requirements
- WRC staff are trained in HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), human subjects and regulatory compliance and follow a detailed set of policies and standard operating procedures
- Expert FDA hearing support
Imaging Certification
All imaging technicians and equipment participating in any of our studies are required to be certified by the UW-WRC for each specific study and each specific procedure within that study, prior to submitting study participant images.