Prof. Dr. Ursula Schmidt- Erfurth (Head)
Ms Sabine Chorherr (QM)

Clinical research & tests, Consulting, Diagnostics / Diagnostic technologies, Drug development / Drug delivery, Pharmaceuticals, Proteomics, Services (synthesis, sequencing, spectroscopy)

The central aims of the Department of Ophthalmology and Optometry as part of the Medical University of Vienna are patient care, scientific research and teaching.

The Department of Ophthalmology and Optometry of the Medical University of Vienna was founded in 1812. Since then the Department of Ophthalmology has grown up to one of the largest ophthalmic departments within Europe. The mission of the Department of Ophthalmology is patient care, scientific research, and teaching. Patient care includes state of the art diagnostics and therapies in ophthalmology according to prevention, health maintenance, healing and abatement of symptoms. High level scientific research enables our continuous diagnostic and therapeutic progress. Training of medical students and specialists in ophthalmology as well as postdoctoral education is another central aim of the Department of Ophthalmology.
A highly qualified and experienced multi disciplinary team of ophthalmologists, orthoptists, nurses, medical assistants, study coordinators, photographers, etc. allows us to achieve our objectives

The Clinical Study Center Vienna Clinical Site (VCS) represents an important part of the research core process at the Department of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Medical University of Vienna. The main task of VCS is to implement clinical studies, that have been commissioned, best possible. A highly qualified and experienced, multidisciplinary team consisting of Ophthalmologists, Study Coordinators, Study Operators and Study Technicians on the one hand and a wide range of state of the art medical equipment on the other hand, enables VCS the implementation of clinical ophthalmologic studies accordant to study protocols.
A close collaboration between the Department of Ophthalmology and Optometry and the other Departments of Vienna General Hospital, Medical University of Vienna optimizes and links the medical services. International cooperation with other medical institutions, research development divisions and industry partners are of vital importance.
We have long time experience in performing significant international clinical studies in cooperation with major industry partners. As a result of an enormous quantity of patients at the Department of Ophthalmology (approx. 3000 patients per week in the outpatient department) we have a large number of potential study subjects.
At the Vienna Reading Center (VRC) of the Department of Ophthalmology, it is our obligation to provide standardized scientific analysis of ophthalmic images such as optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans, spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT), microperimetry examinations and ocular fundus images like – fluorescein angiography (FLA) and color fundus photography (CF) – on a digital basis with the most advanced high quality solutions available.
The aim of the VRC is to gain further insight into patho-morphological and patho-physiological retinal changes secondary to sight threatening diseases and to correlate them with normal physiological findings.
The purpose of our activity is to be able to participate in the implementation of new therapeutic strategies for ocular diseases. Thereby we, at the VRC, assess therapeutic effects on retinal morphology and physiology in detail by evaluating examinations of scientific multi center clinical trials.
With the ongoing scientific evaluation of the analyzed and assessed data we want to gain further insight in the possible future fields of OCT application, spectral-domain-OCT, FLA, CF and microperimetry. Since our reading personal is recruited mainly from clinical staff of the Ophthalmology Clinic of the Medical University of Vienna the VRC is also a valuable additional educational part in gaining experience on these examination methods.

Conducting clinical trials in ophthalmology of all clinical phases (I-IV)
See above (R & D)

see above (R & D)
diverse international memberships
The Clinical Study Center is a member of EVI.CT.SE (European Vision Insitute, Clinical Trials, Sites of Excellence)
Performing mulitcenter clinical trials