Eyecare trials enroll only people who meet protocol-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Those rules cover diagnosis, age, general health, and prior treatments, according to the National Eye Institute Learn About Clinical Trials page.
Inclusion criteria describe who may enter a study. Exclusion criteria describe who must stay out. Each study sets its own mix, so fit varies trial by trial.
Official resources:
- Register through NIH’s official page — Use this page to review requirements and register directly.
- Register through NIH’s official page — Use this page to review requirements and register directly.
Table of Contents
- Do you meet the age and consent rules?
- What vision and diagnosis proof is required?
- Which eye history can disqualify you?
- Which health and medicine rules matter?
- How strict are these rules, and what can you do?
Do you meet the age and consent rules?
Most adult eyecare trials require participants to be 18 or older. Participants must also be able to give written informed consent.
Children may enroll only with parental permission. They also need age-appropriate cooperation with eye tests and visits.
What vision and diagnosis proof is required?
Retina trials often require best-corrected visual acuity within a narrow window. Best-corrected acuity means sharpest vision with glasses or contacts, measured on an ETDRS eye chart. For example, some neovascular age-related macular degeneration studies accept only eyes from 20/40 to 20/320, according to the Journal of Ophthalmology retina trial eligibility analysis.
Vision that is better or worse falls outside that study. Diagnosis must also have objective test proof. Branch retinal vein occlusion trials may require fovea-involving macular edema. The central retina must measure at least 300 microns thick on optical coherence tomography, a cross-section eye scan.
Which eye history can disqualify you?
Recent eye surgery is a common exclusion. Active infection or inflammation around the eye also excludes many volunteers.
These rules protect clear results. A changed eye surface or recent procedure can hide whether the study treatment worked.
- recent intraocular, laser, or refractive surgery
- active eye infection or inflammation
- uncontrolled glaucoma or outcome-affecting cataract
- contact-lens or punctal-plug use that changes the eye surface
Which health and medicine rules matter?
Pregnancy and breastfeeding commonly exclude volunteers from dry-eye trials. Autoimmune disease or unstable systemic disease can also exclude.
Certain medicines are disallowed during the study. Common examples are topical steroids, cyclosporine, and other specified dry-eye drugs.
How strict are these rules, and what can you do?
Acuity cutoffs alone exclude many real-world patients. One analysis found 44.7% of macular degeneration eyes ineligible, mostly because vision was too good or too poor, according to the Journal of Ophthalmology generalizability summary.
That limit means trial results may not fit every patient. A person outside the range cannot join that exact study.
- compare your diagnosis against the ClinicalTrials.gov record
- list eye surgeries, infections, lens use, and other eye history
- list medicines, pregnancy status, and health conditions
- check whether you can attend all required visits
- discuss fit with your eye doctor, since the NEI Eye Clinic enrolls only research participants, according to the National Eye Institute NEI Eye Clinic page
