Early detection of eye disease is critical for preventing vision loss that affects more than 38 million Americans. Current diagnostic tools often reveal retinal changes only after vision loss has already occurred. Tests of visual function are limited by their subjectivity, and by the pooling of signals from tens to thousands of retinal cells. Tests of retinal structure are limited by the substantial anatomical variation among individuals, which makes early disease detection impossible without baseline measurements. In most cases structural tests can therefore detect only macroscopic changes that follow major cell death. These limitations could be overcome by a non-invasive method to detect chemical changes that precede cell death. For this purpose, we will develop two novel technologies, adaptive longitudinal chromatic aberration (LCA) correction and axially- resolved hyperspectral retinal imaging. These will be demonstrated in combination with ophthalmic adaptive optics, to characterize the spectra of idiopathic epiretinal membranes, with or without associated retinal traction or macular hole, as well as age-related macular degeneration and central serous retinopathy.
In this grant we will develop adaptive longitudinal aberration correction and axially-resolved hyperspectral confocal retinal imaging with monochromatic aberration correction. These novel technologies will be used to search for non-invasive biomarkers in epiretinal membranes.
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