The investigator goal is to develop a commercial instrument for measuring and characterizing intrinsic fluorescence (autofluorescence) in the retina. This instrument will make it possible to broaden the research connecting lipofuscin - the dominant retinal fluorophore - with aging, age related macular degeneration (AMD), and several juvenile retina degenerations. Lipofuscin also is thought to reflect oxidative damage to the retina and its quantification would provide a cumulative index of oxidative damage to the retina. The Pi sees a market for such a device among retinal researchers and pharmaceutical companies. Furthermore, an instrument designed specifically for retinal spectrofluorometry will allow the study of other retial fluorophores (collagen, drusen, flavi proteins) as well as open the possibility of quantitative studies using exogenous fluorescent markers (fluorescein , ICG, BPD, etc).
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