- FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT MODULE The Functional Assessment Module (FAM) provides access to expert personnel and equipment for assessing ocular structure and visual function non-invasively in living small animal models. The FAM enhances the research environment by making available state-of-the-art equipment ranging from an electroretinogram (ERG) system to an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system, as well as a fulltime technician who can provide training in the use of instruments and make consistent measurements for longitudinal studies. The FAM fulfills the growing needs of investigators to characterize the phenotype of rodent models for retinal and other ocular diseases and evaluate the efficacy of therapeutic interventions. This Module also promotes pilot projects by providing technical help, which, because of current commitments or lack of experience, is often unavailable in individual laboratories. The Module is located in three designated and specifically designed light-tight procedure rooms within the Brehm Tower SPF animal housing facility, which is readily accessible to our vision scientists. Adjacent to these procedure rooms is a rodent housing room specifically for dark adaptation/dark maintenance. The procedure rooms, totaling 428 sq. ft., are accessed via a corridor that can be lit by dim red light and house an Espion E2 Electrophysiology system for ERG measurements; a Phoenix Research Laboratories Micron III retinal imaging device with green, red, and far-red filters, equipped with a slit-lamp for imaging the anterior eye and a Meridian MERILAS 532D laser for performing laser-induced choroidal neovascularization; a Bioptigen Spectral Domain Ophthalmic Imaging System with an InVivoVue ClinicTM software suite for spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) imaging; a CerebralMechanics OptoMotry system for optokinetic analysis; a Neuroptics A-2000 animal pupillometer for measurement of pupillary responses to light stimulation; and a Tonolab? research rebound tonometer for measuring rodent ocular pressure. During the prior granting period, the Functional Assessment Module was extensively utilized by 6 participating investigators with another 3 being moderate users. In the next funding period, 8 participating investigators (5 with NEI-R01 funding) anticipate using the Module to a moderate or extensive degree to facilitate their vision research.
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