Transforming service delivery with project HERCULES
8 April 2026
In 2022, a Springboard award was given to Professor Paul Foster, a researcher at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and consultant at Moorfields Eye Hospital to transform the way patients were seen in the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conceptualised in early 2020, the HERCULES project was devised as a way to keep both patients and staff safe during their vital treatment during the pandemic.
What is HERCULES?
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HERCULES stands for Healthcare Exemplar for Recovery from Covid-19 Using Linear Examination Systems. In short, it is a system designed to streamline the diagnostic processes for glaucoma and retinal issues.
The idea came to be realised as diagnostic hubs led by highly trained technicians. To minimise contact during the pandemic, the hubs were designed to be an easily walkable environment in which a patient is taken through a series of machines in a line by a technician.
An example of HERCULES at Moorfields Hoxton
Once the assessment is complete, information is sent electronically to a consultant who can view it at any time. These diagnostic hubs allow for double the amount of patients’ data to be reviewed in a day, and increasing overall efficiency by 15-20%.
It also means that patients can go to a clinic in their closer communities as opposed to travelling and waiting longer for a hospital appointment.
Not only has it increased output for hospitals, but this project also increased capacity for further research.
There is more opportunity for collaboration between patients and researchers, as both patients and their test data can be easily accessed in environments that work for both parties involved. The ability to access data remotely also means that the research can be worked on from anywhere, and potentially used by teams outside of Moorfields for further study.
Over 1 million patients in the UK are being treated for glaucoma, with that number projected to rise to 1.6 million by 2060. Data and research gathered by systems like HERCULES could be the answer to developing new treatments, and shifting the current focus from treating glaucoma to preventing sight loss before it has a chance to occur.
Moorfields Eye Charity CEO Robert Dufton undergoing an eye exam at Moorfields Hoxton with technician Alyzeh.
Professor Foster shared his gratitude for Moorfields Eye Charity’s philanthropic supporters who have helped to fund his project, stating that the funding he has received over the last twenty years of his career has been “hugely important”.
It has also increased the capacity for research while advancing understanding, with Professor Foster stating that at least six or seven PhD students he mentored have since become faculty at Moorfields.
