SCONe - Scottish Collaborative Optometry-Ophthalmology Network EResearch

30/04/2026

Data Conversations is a public engagement project exploring what health data means to people, through dialogue across generations.

It was co-designed by SCONe researchers together with the SCONe Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Group, comprising six members aged 50+ with lived experience of eye disease and one 17-year-old participant.

The term ‘data’ covers a wide range of information, which can make it challenging for the public to engage in discussions about data research. The project team worked with members of the public to break down complex ideas into tangible examples. They explored the implications of using – or not using – health data in research about disease prevention, care and early detection.

Data Conversations was funded by Research Data Scotland.

2 likes. "Data Conversations Bridging Generations"

07/04/2026

Our Spring newsletter is out now! Follow the link in the comments below to view it in full on our website.

10/03/2026

Our paper describing the SCONe dataset has been selected as one of BMJ Health & Care Informatics Top 10 Best Papers of 2025!

'SCONe: a community-acquired retinal image repository enabling ocular, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disease prediction'
https://informatics.bmj.com/content/32/1/e101236

The paper acts as an introduction to the SCONe dataset, describing the characteristics of the cohort and highlighting its enormous potential to support research into earlier detection of disease.

Since publication, we have expanded the SCONe cohort significantly; the total number of images now stands at just under 1.5 million. We are in the process of writing and submitting a number of new papers to journals, which will provide further insight into our progress since then.

25/11/2025

How can we encourage people in Scotland to take better care of their eyes?

Join us for a collaborative online workshop on 10 December (13:00–15:00) where we’ll refine practical eye-health messages co-developed with patients and the public. Everyone is welcome public, patients, charities, healthcare professionals; if you are interested, follow the link for more information.

We’re bringing together optometrists, ophthalmologists, health professionals, researchers, and public representatives to help make these messages clear, inclusive, and engaging.

Follow this link to register your interest and find out more: https://lnkd.in/gcBU5Xhs

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06/11/2025

📰 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲! 📰

- 1 million images in SCONe Repository!
- What's next for SCONe
- BCOVS
- Scottish Vision Strategy Conference
- Health Data Research UK Conference
- SCONe Animated Video
- Data Conversations Project

Read the latest SCONe updates here:
https://clinical-sciences.ed.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2025-11/SCONe%20Newsletter%20-%20October%202025.pdf

📧 Sign up for SCONe emails here:
https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/edinburgh/scone-email-sign-up

🌐 You can also keep up to date on our website:
https://clinical-sciences.ed.ac.uk/scone/news-and-updates

29/10/2025

28/10/2025

The Fight for Sight-funded SCONe Project has captured 1 million retinal scans, unlocking a whole new window into health beyond the eyes.

These retina images aren’t just about eye disease could reveal early signs of conditions like age‑related Macular Degeneration, Glaucoma, cardiovascular issues & even dementia. By combining images from 10 of Scotland’s 14 Health Boards plus cutting-edge AI, the project is pushing toward earlier diagnoses & interventions.

“This innovative project will undoubtedly improve public health and fast track vital healthcare research. One of the many benefits of the repository comes from the presence of many images without or before clinical diagnosis.” Prof Baljean Dhillon

Read more here: https://ow.ly/Xl2x50XitqM

27/10/2025

𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀! 📰

SCONe has recently featured in a number of media articles by Optometry Today, Optician, Eye News, Fight for Sight, ACCORD (The University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian) and more!

"𝘈 𝘚𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘫𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦.

𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴."

We are extremely grateful to the Scottish optometrists and optometry practices who came forward to participate, without whom this project would have not been possible.

You can find the links to the full articles here:
https://clinical-sciences.ed.ac.uk/scone/news-and-updates

10/10/2025

On World Mental Health Day, we would like to highlight the impact that can have on . It's common for people with sight loss to experience feelings of low mood, loneliness or depression.

Talking about mental health is important, but starting a conversation isn’t always easy. Whether you’d like to talk to someone about how you’re feeling, or check-in with someone you care about, find some tips that can help on the Mental Health Foundation website:
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/public-engagement/world-mental-health-day

Information and support on coming to terms with sight loss can be found on the RNIB website: https://www.rnib.org.uk/your-eyes/navigating-sight-loss/diagnosis-and-next-steps/coming-to-terms-with-sight-loss/

09/10/2025

Today is , campaigning for eye care that is:

♿ Accessible
✅ Available
💳 Affordable

🌍👥 For everyone, everywhere. By 2030.

🔗 Find out more: https://www.iapb.org/about/2030-in-sight/

VISION 2020/IAPB

01/10/2025

SCONe’s PPIE Researcher Ana Paula Rubio will present a talk titled 𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘁: 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 at the 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗨𝗞 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 in October at the SEC, Glasgow.

Ana’s talk is scheduled to take place on 16th October during the session ‘Public and patient involvement and engagement (PPIE) throughout the research cycle’.

🔗 Find out more here: https://www.hdruk.ac.uk/about/hdr-uk-conference/