New imaging techniques can accelerate the development of eye disease treatment

Researchers have developed a simple and rapid method for photoretinography, an imaging technique that measures light-induced functional activity in the retina of the eye, the network
of neurons at the back of our eyes responsible for detecting light and activating vision.

Ravi Jonnal, head of the research team at the University of California, Davis, said: "Photoretinal imaging often uses very expensive equipment, requires multiple experts to operate, generates a lot of data at the same time, and requires a lot of computing resources
.

Jonnal and his colleagues reported their new approach in Optica, a high-impact research journal of the Optica Publishing Group, which they call speed-based photoretinography
.

"While speed-based retinography has the potential to provide clinicians with more accurate and earlier information on retinal loss, its first real impact is more likely to be a clinical trial to accelerate new treatments for retinal diseases," said Jonnal, who performed the first retinal imaging measurements
as a doctoral student in Indiana University's Don Miller lab.

Track shape changes

Photoretinography detects small changes in the shape of neurons in the retina that produce or conduct signals
.

"When we use adaptive optics for photoretinal imaging measurements, experiments can easily take half a day and produce 1 tb of data
that needs to be processed," Jonnal said.

To avoid resolving and tracking individual neurons, Jonnal and his colleagues wanted to see if they could measure the relative speed at
which retinal neurons moved.

Measure motor neurons

To perform speed-based photoretinography, the researchers developed a new OCT camera that allows an operator to collect images from more locations on the retina that other photoretinography methods cannot
.

The researchers demonstrated their new technique
by collecting measurement data from three healthy volunteers.

They are now planning trials aimed at demonstrating the sensitivity of the technique to disease-related dysfunction
.

Journal Reference:

1. Kari V.