LERCO project enables excellent research in ophthalmology

Ophthalmologist Juraj Timkovič from the Faculty of Medicine of the OU received the prestigious Medis Awards for Medical Research in Ljubljana on 13 March for his research on the treatment of retinopathy of prematurity. An independent international committee selected the award from 251 scientific papers submitted.

Now in its eleventh year, the Medis Awards for Medical Research recognises outstanding research achievements by physicians and pharmacists from eleven Central and Eastern European countries. This year, for the first time, the Czech Republic also participated. Juraj Timkovič, a physician from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ostrava, is among the nine winners with his research carried out within the LERCO project.

The awardees had to meet a number of conditions, with the main criterion being meeting the high requirements for publication in prestigious scientific journals with an impact factor of more than 1,500. At the same time, there must be a demonstrable daily involvement in clinical practice and a potential contribution of the submitted competition work in diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Juraj Timkovic's work fully met all the demanding criteria and on March 13, in the presence of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Natasa Pirc Musar, he received the award for scientific contribution in the field of ophthalmology.

This year, 251 scientific papers were submitted to the competition from Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Serbia. 197 of them fulfilled the required criteria for nomination to the Medis Awards for Medical Research.

Artificial intelligence helps in the diagnosis and treatment of retinopathy of prematurity

The International Committee recognised the work of Juraj Timkovic, whose latest research focuses on the potential of using artificial intelligence in ophthalmology. The research project, Retinal Image Dataset of Infants and Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), uses artificial intelligence to automatically detect and analyse changes in the eye fundus of premature infants. The study presents a unique high-resolution dataset containing 6,004 retinal images of 188 newborns along with anonymised patient data from ROP examinations at the University Hospital Ostrava. The use of artificial intelligence in the treatment of retinopathy of prematurity provides more reliable and faster diagnosis. Early treatment prevents the development of visual impairment in these children.

Artificial intelligence will help premature babies

Juraj Timkovic's research meets the basic and very strict criteria for the Medis Awards for Medical Research, which aims to highlight outstanding scientific and research results contributing to advances in the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases.

A call to action for other scientists

Speaking at the launch of the 11th Medis Awards for Medical Research, the Chairman of the International Scientific Committee, Professor Borut Štrukelj from the Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, said:

"This year the International Medis Awards have expanded to include the Czech Republic and Slovakia. We invite more scientists to join the scientific community that has been developing around the awards since 2014. In addition, we are now giving researchers the opportunity to present their scientific work on an even larger international stage. I therefore strongly encourage physicians and pharmacists from selected disciplines to apply."

Juraj Timkovič, MD, PhD, is the head of the Centre for Children with Visual Impairment and deputy head of the Eye Clinic at the University Hospital Ostrava. He is also an assistant professor at the Department of Craniofacial Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ostrava. Dr. Timkovič received his doctorate in paediatric ophthalmology at Masaryk University in Brno. His research and publications focus primarily on pediatric ophthalmology and neuro-ophthalmology, with special emphasis on the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care of children with retinopathy of prematurity.

The Medis Awards for Medical Research is a prestigious international competition for physicians and pharmacists from Central and Eastern Europe who are actively engaged in clinical practice while publishing research studies in highly ranked scientific journals. The prize is awarded annually by an independent International Scientific Committee in the following medical fields: dermatology, gynaecology, intensive care medicine and anaesthesiology, neurology, ophthalmology, paediatrics, pharmacy, pneumology and allergy, rheumatology. The competition is now in its eleventh year and the competition committee selects competitors from eleven European countries.