New functional imaging technologies for monitoring retinal disease
During a presentation at the 2020 ASRS Virtual Meeting, Steven Becker, PhD discussed several of the imaging modalities supported by the National Eye Institute (NEI) Audacious Goals Initiative for Regenerative Medicine (AGI).
Below are highlights from 3 of the 5 imaging projects NEI has funded.
- Technology being developed at Stanford by Alfredo Dubra, PhD includes real time eye motion stabilization, a tunable lens to improve the focusing of all colors of light, and high-throughput methods for the functional testing of cells. “These imaging technologies will advance the usability of next-generation retinal cameras and microscopes and will compensate for involuntary eye movements,” said Dr Becker.
- A team at UC-Irvine has created a 2-photon microscope, which can measure the metabolism and distribution of vitamin A derivatives within photoreceptors and should help with the monitoring of disease progression and response to future regenerative therapies.
- An optical system to image the light responses of individual retinal cells in macaques has been designed by David Williams at the University of Rochester.
“The imaging modalities supported by the NEI AGI will enable approaches that can determine when and where retinal cells are dying as well as image and probe the physiology of replacement cells. These noninvasive functional imaging technologies that will improve the ability of eye care professionals to help people with vision loss,” said Dr Becker.
Reference
Becker S, et al. New imaging modalities for monitoring retinal disease. Presented at: 2020 ASRS Virtual Meeting.
