Sensory sciences facilities
At ARU, our sensory science students work in high-standard clinical facilities, and gain essential hands-on experience for the real world in optics and audiology.
Our air-conditioned facilities in Cambridge offer you the opportunity to explore your interests and hone your skills in a supportive and collaborative environment, under the direction of our team of academics and clinical tutors.
Optometry Teaching Labs
Based at Compass House, our Optometry Teaching Labs were updated in 2023. You’ll:
- have 32 cubicles each with:
- state-of-the-art Thomson vision testing charts
- an LED Ophthalmoscope and Retinoscope – with options by a range of manufacturers including Heine and Keeler.
- get familiar with observing the eye using Keeler LED slit lamps.
- use 80-inch high-definition screens which can each be linked to one of four video-slit lamps.
- hone your contact lens assessment skills using Keratometers to measure corneal curvature and tear quality.
Ophthalmic Dispensing Teaching Labs
Gain the skills to be a fully-trained member of the practice team in your future optometry or ophthalmic dispensing career. With the equipment here you can learn:
- to determine lens power using Focimeters
- how to take facial measurements to ensure comfortable spectacles for your patients
- how to make repairs and adjustments.
Audiology Teaching Labs
These are audiological testing spaces and interactive, team-based learning environments. Here you’ll use equipment to:
- conduct essential audiological procedures:
- otoscopy
- pure tone audiometry
- tympanometry
- real ear measurements
- practice electrophysiological measures of auditory and vestibular function such as auditory brainstem responses and vestibular evoked myogenic potentials.
University Eye Clinic
Second, third and fourth year optometry students spend time in our University Eye Clinic which offers a wide range of optometric services to the general public, students and staff.
The Clinic features 16 fully-equipped test rooms with a variety of combi units, slit lamps and vision charts to simulate the testing equipment you’re likely to encounter in the workplace, such as:
- non-contact, rebound and contact tonometers
- visual field screeners
- phoropters
- Oculus trial frames
- specialist paediatric vision tests
- an Optical Coherence Tomographer (OCT). This 3D retina scanning machine can:
- use light waves to take cross-sectional images through the depth of the retina (and beyond).
- take Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) scans; pictures of the blood vessels in and under the retina. OCTA is like fluorescein angiography, but is a much quicker test and doesn’t use a dye injection.
- an Optos machine which captures a 200° ultra-widefield retinal image (an OptoMap) for suitable patients using non-invasive, low-intensity scanning lasers.
Vision and Hearing Research Centre Labs
The Vision and Hearing Research Centre is based in Compass House and has vision and audiology research labs.
Vision Research Labs
These include specialist space and equipment for:
- anterior eye research (including an Antares Plus corneal topographer and video slit lamp)
- psychophysical research (including an EyeLink 1000 eye tracker, a ViSaGe stimulus generator and calibrated monitors)
- general optometric research facilities (including refractive equipment, HFA3 perimeter and colourimeter).
The Vision and Eye Research Institute (VERI) based in Young Street, Cambridge, brings together all vision and eye research in different departments and faculties within ARU. See our facilities available to researchers.
Audiology Research Lab
You’ll use this space for behavioural and electrophysiological experiments and can also conduct qualitative research such as participant interviews here.
This lab holds an audiometric test booth constructed to meet audiological test requirements (including wall and roof panel, structurally isolated floors, acoustic doors and acoustic windows).