Imagine, while wide awake, having your eye clamped open and a chemical injected in it. After the anaesthetic wears off, your eye feels gritty, your vision is blurry and sunlight is blinding.

Elizabeth Treslove, from Maidstone, has to suffer this traumatic procedure every month to treat a condition called wet macular degeneration.

This chronic disorder leads to blurred vision or blind spots and is caused by abnormal blood vessels leaking fluid or blood into the macula, which is in the part of the retina responsible for central vision.

She said: “I absolutely dread it every single month, no one can ever say anything to make me feel better about it.”

Diagnosed in 2017, Miss Treslove, who works for law firm, Allen & Overy, decided to take part in a clinical trial starting in November that year, to try and reduce the number of future injections she will need.

A month previously, she "flew off the couch" after her doctor did not use enough anaesthetic and this was the final push for her to look at alternatives.

She said: “Before I started the trial I felt like I was on a conveyer belt.

“There is a big difference in receiving normal treatment and being in a research programme - you don’t feel like a number because the people involved are trying to achieve something.”

The treatment she is trialling is called STAR, short for Stereotactic radiotherapy.

The key element of the treatment is one session of radiotherapy which zaps the fluid and blood preventing leaking which damages the vision.

Each person involved in the research is monitored and depending on the information gained from the scan, injections are given if required.

The whole thrust of the research is to reduce the amount of injections needed, and some patients do not require any injections following their visit to Kings.

However, they could continue until the trial finishes in December.

Miss Treslove said: “I was unsure about whether to do it at first. I decided to go along to the first meeting but was greeted by the doctor who didn’t use enough anaesthetic on me before.

"However, another man who was head of the trial, Mr Membrey, heard me as I was talking and popped his head round the door. He was the one who convinced me to do it.

“He said there’s probably more risk in having my normal injections than doing the trial. If I was to stay on my ordinary drugs I would probably have injections in my eye for the rest of my life."

Miss Treslove, of Sutton Road, is unsure whether she has received a placebo but says her sight is gradually improving and she is happy with treatment so far.

The aim of the injections is to stop fluid leaking behind the eye.

The condition has a massive impact on her life since she was diagnosed two years ago. She is forced to miss a whole week of work after each injection as she can neither drive nor look at a computer screen.

If the experimental procedure is successful, Miss Treslove’s life will be transformed as it’s hoped in the future she will not need any injections.

She feels so strongly about the positive impact taking part in research can have, she spoke at a recent conference held at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust last month.

Research nurse at the trust, Audrey Perkins, added: "Elizabeth's experience is unusual - intravitreal injections are normally pain free and with the care of the research team this has been achieved.

"The fact she is a night worker on a computer is a contributory factor for the symptoms she experiences."

Another who spoke about his experience was Chris Mew, a 62-year-old carpenter with rheumatoid arthritis.

In 2013, he took part in a trial for the drug, OSKIRA.

He said: “My experience was absolutely brilliant, and was run by extremely professional people dedicated to their work.”

Mr Mew, who has just moved to Biggin Hill from Edenbridge, took the drug for a year, adding: “Without drug trials we would become stagnant-you’ve got to have a few guinea pigs.”

Alongside patients, medical professionals explained their side of research at the conference held in Maidstone Hospital’s Academic Centre on Hermitage Lane.

The aim was to highlight the importance of research, share experiences and encourage others to take part in future trials. Each year, between 600 and 1,500 patients participate in research at the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.

In 2018, more than 2,000 people were offered a place on a medical study. The NHS says taking part in research allows medics the knowledge to better treat diseases in the future.