Agiltron proposes to develop volumetric optical coherence microscopic imaging technology for the full anterior chamber of the rabbit eye with high depth resolution, high speed, and high sensitivity to quantitatively assess the depth and extent of initial injury (001) in ocular irritant test. Studies pioneered by Dr. Jester have provided strong evidence that 001 is an objective and universal biomarker to determine the severity of toxicity for various chemicals at time points much earlier than currently defined humane endpoints. The 4-0 (X, Y, Z, and t) optical coherence imaging proposed by Agiltron has the key properties in ultrahigh depth resolution, large depth range, and wide area coverage. In addition, the ultrahigh speed can effectively remove motion artifacts of living animals. Therefore the imaging technology provides the most appropriate tool to accurately evaluate the depth, area, and volume of the initial injury as well as the later responses in recovery. In particular, novel 3D registration and segmentation technology will be developed to enable the point-to-point comparison of the irritation progression and wound healing at the same tissue vicinity (XYZ dimensions) but different time points (t dimension) for quantitative, objective, and sensitive ocular safety assessments as well as the earlier human endpoints.
