1882
Sydney Eye Hospital begins
The Sydney Eye Hospital was established at Millers Point before moving to Woolloomooloo in 1922.
Important service update
AODI’s service transition began on 1 October 2026, with services at Gordon Eye Surgery scheduled from mid-October 2026. Please confirm your appointment before attending.
Important service update
AODI services are relocating in October 2026
The service transition began on 1 October 2026, with services at Gordon Eye Surgery scheduled from mid-October 2026. Please confirm your appointment before attending.
Australian Ophthalmic Diagnostic Institute
Finding answers
sight loss alone
cannot reveal.
AODI is Australia's leading centre for visual electrodiagnostic testing. We diagnose conditions that no scan or imaging test can find — and open pathways to treatments, including gene therapy, that change lives.
Full-field ERG — retinal electrophysiology trace
800+Tests / year
40 yrsClinical excellence
1 of 2Luxturna sites in AU
What we diagnose
Conditions only
electrodiagnostics
can find
When standard ophthalmic assessment cannot explain why sight is failing, AODI's electrodiagnostic tests localise the fault at the cellular level — layer by layer, from photoreceptor to brain. Each diagnosis opens a treatment path that was otherwise closed.
Inherited retinal disease
Precise diagnosis and eligibility assessment for gene and cell therapies. AODI is one of only two sites in Australia approved to deliver Luxturna — the country's first approved gene therapy for genetic blindness.
Gene therapy gatewayCancer-associated retinopathy
Vision loss can be the earliest sign of an occult malignancy. Electrodiagnostic testing opens a window to find the cancer before it spreads — and in some cases, before any other symptom appears.
Early detectionUnexplained vision loss
When every scan returns normal but sight continues to fail, AODI finds the fault. Objective measurement of retinal function provides the answers that imaging alone cannot.
The last diagnostic stepPaediatric and non-verbal patients
We measure visual function in infants and children who cannot describe what they see. No subjective test reaches what electrodiagnostic assessment can achieve.
Objective assessmentDrug toxicity monitoring
Long-term medications including hydroxychloroquine can cause silent retinal damage. AODI detects toxicity before it becomes irreversible, protecting vision across thousands of patients.
Prevention & monitoringClinical trials & autoimmune disease
Providing the functional endpoints on which national and international trials depend, and diagnosing autoimmune retinopathies where identification enables life-changing treatment.
Research & innovation800+Specialist electrodiagnostic assessments performed each year
$5.2MLifetime economic cost per inherited retinal disease patient in AustraliaSchofield et al., MJA 2023
19,000+Australians living with inherited retinal disease, for whom AODI is the gateway to gene therapy
40 yrsOf continuous clinical operation at Sydney Eye Hospital, serving patients from every state and overseas
All figures current as at June 2026. Referrals received from across New South Wales and every other Australian state.
Who we help
Patients at every stage
of their journey
AODI serves a wide spectrum of patients — from newborns assessed within days of birth to adults managing long-term systemic conditions. What they share is a question that no other service in New South Wales can answer for them.
We receive referrals from ophthalmologists, neurologists, oncologists, rheumatologists and general practitioners across the country. For many patients, a referral to AODI is the moment their diagnostic journey finally moves forward.
We currently see between 110 and 134 new referrals each month, drawn from all parts of New South Wales and beyond. The active patient panel includes people with inherited disease, acute visual loss, chronic inflammatory conditions, and those qualifying for or already receiving gene therapy.
Infants and young childrenAssessed within weeks of birth where early diagnosis determines eligibility for treatments that protect lifelong vision.
Children and adolescentsMonitoring inherited conditions and supporting access to gene therapies that are most effective when given early.
Working-age adultsDiagnosing unexplained vision loss, toxic retinopathy, and autoimmune conditions that affect people in the prime of their careers.
Older adultsMonitoring drug toxicity, identifying cancer-related retinopathy, and guiding complex systemic disease management.
Clinical trial participantsProviding the objective functional endpoints on which national and international trials for new therapies depend.
Interstate and internationalPatients who travel to Sydney Eye Hospital specifically for AODI's expertise, with no equivalent service available to them at home.
Our history
A legacy of eye health
continuing through AODI
AODI builds on more than a century of Sydney eye health milestones — from the founding of Sydney Eye Hospital, through university ophthalmology and the Save Sight Institute, to today’s specialist diagnostic service.
1964
University ophthalmology established
The Discipline of Clinical Ophthalmology and Eye Health was established at The University of Sydney, strengthening academic ophthalmology in Australia.
1974
Save Sight Foundation formed
The Lions NSW-ACT Save Sight Foundation was launched to support research, education, and improved eye health.
1985
Save Sight Institute founded
The Save Sight Institute was established through The University of Sydney, Sydney Eye Hospital, and the Lions Save Sight Foundation.
1989
Institute presence at Sydney Eye Hospital
Save Sight Institute established a presence at Sydney Eye Hospital, strengthening links between research and patient care.
2007
Clinical leadership expands
Professor John Grigg was appointed Head of the Discipline of Clinical Ophthalmology and Eye Health, supporting the growth of specialist eye research and care.
2009
Research leadership grows
Professor Peter McCluskey AO was appointed Director of the Save Sight Institute, leading a major period of research and clinical development.
2026
AODI assumes stewardship
AODI took over the next chapter of this specialist diagnostic legacy, continuing the commitment to advanced ophthalmic testing, research, and patient care.
Centre of excellence
Why AODI leads
nationally
Forty years of unbroken clinical operation has built a depth of expertise, a research portfolio, and a patient panel that no other service in Australia can match.
01
The only full-spectrum service in New South Wales
AODI offers the complete range of electrodiagnostic tests — full-field ERG, multifocal ERG, pattern ERG, electrooculography, and visual evoked potentials — under one roof, interpreted by clinicians who are leaders in their subspecialties.
02
Research that shapes national practice
AODI's clinical work is the foundation for a research pipeline in inherited retinal disease, autoimmune retinopathy, and genomic therapy. The Institute will host the 63rd ISCEV Symposium in Sydney — bringing the global field to Australia.
03
Training the next generation
AODI is committed to training specialist scientists and clinicians in electrodiagnostic medicine. A named fellowship programme will ensure the field has leaders for the decades ahead.
"
This heralds a new era for people who otherwise have a life of blindness ahead of them — and hope for more than 15,000 affected Australians.
Prof John Grigg · Save Sight Institute
1 of 3Services of this kind in Australia
40 yrsContinuous clinical operation
NSW onlyService of its kind in the state
The Team
World-class
clinical leadership
AODI brings together clinical and operational leaders whose combined expertise spans ophthalmology, electrodiagnostic science, research, and the running of public-private diagnostic services.
Institutional Anchor
Prof Peter McCluskey AO
President, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists. Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Sydney. Based at the Save Sight Institute, Sydney Eye Hospital.
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View profile →The most senior clinical voice in Australian ophthalmology committed to AODI's mission.
Clinical Lead
Prof John Grigg
Head of the Discipline of Ophthalmology at The University of Sydney’s Save Sight Institute. Consults at Sydney Eye Hospital and The Children’s Hospital Westmead.
"
View profile →Forty years of electrodiagnostic expertise and the research relationships that will define AODI's future.
Medical Retina & Uveitis Specialist
A/Prof Elisa Cornish
Consultant Eye Surgeon and Staff Specialist at Sydney Eye Hospital and Westmead Hospital, with expertise in medical retina, uveitis, glaucoma, cataracts, and inherited eye disease.
"
View profile →A clinical academic advancing research and care for complex retinal, uveitic, and inherited eye disorders.
Medical Retina & Uveitis Specialist
Dr Sophia Zagora
Consultant Eye Surgeon and Staff Specialist at Sydney Eye Hospital, specialising in medical retina, inflammatory eye disorders, glaucoma and cataract.
"
View profile →A clinical academic and investigator focused on uveitis, retinal disease, and complex eye disorders.
Medical Retina & Cataract Specialist
Dr Anagha Vaze
Comprehensive ophthalmologist with subspecialty training in medical retina, uveitis, inherited eye disorders, and complex cataract surgery.
"
View profile →A clinician-scientist combining evidence-based retinal care, visual electrophysiology, and complex cataract expertise.
Operations Lead
Ms Donna Glenn
General Manager, Gordon Eye Surgery. Operates the directly comparable public-private clinical arrangement at Griffith Hospital, the model on which AODI is built.
"
The operational and financial architecture that makes AODI viable, sustainable, and built to grow.
Patient consent
Consent to transfer records
Download and complete the consent form to allow AODI to receive and use relevant clinical records for your referral.
Download consent formGet in touch
Speak with
our team
Whether you are a patient seeking a referral, a clinician wishing to refer, or someone interested in supporting AODI, we welcome your enquiry.
For Patients & Referrers
Australian Ophthalmic Diagnostic Institute
Request my AODI recordsPublic referrals & clinic appointments
For public electrophysiology at Sydney Eye Hospital, referrals must go directly to the hospital, not AODI.
Download AODI referral formComplete consent form