The Lab, the Clinic, and the Image: Working on Translational Research in Singapore’s Eye Care Realm

Abstract

Since the turn of the millennium, Singapore has made significant investments in its biomedical research sector, with in recent years an increasing emphasis on efforts to ‘translate’ the fruits of research into clinical applications. In this paper, we investigate how translational research trajectories are built in present-day Singapore, through a case study pertaining to the use of retinal photography for disease screening. The circulation of such images in the context of a tele-ophthalmology pilot service designed to support the early detection of eye disease related to diabetes, helps attune research to clinical practice and vice versa, in ways that open possibilities for future medical innovation. Our case study points to an inversion of the typical characterization of translational research as a process that begins at the ‘bench’ and then moves downstream (to the ‘bed’) in a linear fashion. It also illuminates certain distinctive features of the current biomedical innovation landscape in the city-state that may provide insights for other countries embarking on medical research.