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Abstract Blue Swirls

Pilot Clinical Trial of Controlled Filtered Sunlight Exposure for Prevention of Retinopathy of Prematurity

  • The four selected participants will work directly on the development and execution of the trial.


    Responsibilities include:

    • Developing the pilot clinical study protocol.

    • Conducting the literature review supporting the scientific rationale.

    • Preparing study forms, case-report forms, consent documents, data dictionaries, and operating procedures.

    • Preparing and submitting the protocol to IMAT Oncomédica Auna in Montería, Colombia and its Ethics Committee.

    • Supporting required revisions arising from institutional and ethics review.

    • Preparing the prospective registration for ClinicalTrials.gov.

    • Ensuring consistency between the approved protocol, ethics documents, statistical analysis plan, and trial registry.

    • Organizing study logistics before prospective enrollment.

    • Coordinating with a retinopathy of prematurity-trained pediatric ophthalmologist and a retina and vitreous specialist.

    • Supporting prospective data collection from November 2026 through February 2027.

    • Using the project's Zoom-based telephone system for protocol-authorized follow-up with parents or guardians.

    • Recording adherence to feeding recommendations using standardized procedures.

    • Documenting protocol deviations and missed follow-up.

    • Ensuring written informed consent from the parent or legal guardian before study participation.

    • Conducting database quality control.

    • Performing statistical analysis under Jorge Racedo's supervision.

    • Participating substantially in interpretation, manuscript preparation, manuscript revision, and responses to reviewers.

    Telephone contact is a research follow-up mechanism and does not replace routine neonatal, ophthalmologic, or emergency clinical care.

  • The project is expected to generate:

  • Clinical Trial

  • Neonatology, Pediatric Ophthalmology, Retina, Clinical Epidemiology, Biostatistics

  • Jorge Racedo at microscopIA, External Clinicians

  • Applicants may include physicians, medical students, biomedical or health researchers, epidemiologists, and other candidates with a relevant clinical or research background.


    Applicants must:

    • Be fluent in Spanish.

    • Have documented training or formal coursework in biostatistics.

    • Be able to contribute to statistical analysis under Jorge Racedo's supervision.

    • Have strong attention to research documentation and participant confidentiality.

    • Be available during the protocol-development phase and the prospective data-collection period.

    • Be able to collaborate with pediatric ophthalmology and retina specialists.

    • Have reliable internet access for remote project activities.

    • Availability for approximately 3–5 hours per week.

    Experience in neonatology, pediatrics, ophthalmology, clinical epidemiology, nutrition, or clinical trials is desirable.

  • Any Country

  • Protocol Development, Ethics Submission, Trial Registration, Informed Consent, Parent Follow-Up, Clinical Data Collection, Data Curation, Data Validation, Data Quality Control, Biostatistical Analysis, Literature Review, Manuscript Preparation, Manuscript Revision, Conference Presentation, Poster Preparation, Response to Reviewers

  • 4

  • Spanish

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    The evidence base requires careful interpretation.

    Filtered sunlight has been evaluated in randomized trials for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, including a randomized noninferiority trial in which temperature, dehydration, and sunburn were specifically monitored. That evidence provides a safety-methodology precedent for controlled filtered sunlight, but it does not establish efficacy for prevention of retinopathy of prematurity.

    A separate randomized pilot trial evaluated 670 nanometer red-light photobiomodulation in premature neonates and found that the intervention was feasible but did not demonstrate a significant reduction in retinopathy severity or treatment requirement.

    Furthermore, randomized evidence reducing ambient retinal light exposure has not demonstrated prevention of retinopathy of prematurity.

    For that reason, this project should be publicly framed as investigational and pilot, rather than as an intervention expected to prevent disease.

  • microscopIA will provide structured supervision in: 


    • Clinical trial protocol development. 

    • Ethics-submission preparation. 

    • ClinicalTrials.gov registration. 

    • Informed-consent documentation. 

    • Research data management. 

    • Quality control. 

    • Statistical analysis. 

    • Scientific writing. 

    • Manuscript preparation. 

    • Response to peer review. 

    Ophthalmologic outcome assessment will remain under appropriately trained clinical specialists.

  • September 28, 2026 at 12:00:00 AM

  • September 30, 2026

  • October 1, 2026

  • February 28, 2027

  • Each participant may report a maximum of two legitimate institutional affiliations.

    Required format:

    Department, Institution or Organization, City, Country

  • microscopIA will cover approved publication fees associated with the anticipated regional manuscript.

    Participants will not be required to personally pay approved article-processing charges.

    Memberships are reinvested to pay microscopIA staff (epidemiologists, engineers, data scientists) salaries and to cover the publication fees for the resulting manuscripts. This maintain our work neutral, financially self-sustainable, and without any existing conflict of interest to maintain rigor and integrity in evidence generation.

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