Based at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, the Liverpool Ophthalmic Reading Centre (LORC) forms part of St Paul’s Eye Unit within the University Hospitals of Liverpool Group NHS Foundation Trust. LORC provides specialist grading and analysis of ophthalmic images.
The centre was established in 2005 to support multicentre clinical trials into eye diseases. Since then, it has continued to play a key role in ophthalmic research locally, nationally and internationally. LORC works with research partners across the world and contributes to the work of the University of Liverpool’s Department of Eye and Vision Sciences, part of the Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences.
LORC works closely with ophthalmic reading centres at Queen’s University Belfast and Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. Together, the three centres form the Network of Ophthalmic Reading Centres UK (NetwORC UK).
LORC supports commercial and grant-funded research across a wide range of ophthalmic conditions, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic and malarial retinopathy, uveitis and retinal vasculitis, retinal vein occlusion, inherited retinal diseases, hydroxychloroquine-related retinal toxicity and glaucoma. The centre also contributes to large-scale population studies.
LORC also has substantial experience in artificial intelligence research, supporting the development of automated methods for detecting and monitoring eye disease.
