Imaging retinal functional activity with fast neural electrical impedance tomography

在许多退行性视网膜疾病中，光感受器细胞的丧失导致不可逆的视力丧失；植入式视网膜假体利用电刺激诱导视觉效果，使视网膜神经元层保持完整。本研究的目的是提供一种具有高时空分辨率、硬件紧凑和低成本的视网膜功能神经活动成像技术，从而大大加快视网膜电生理学的进展和视网膜假体植入前后的优化。这种新工具将建立在电阻抗断层扫描（EIT）的基础上，这是一种非侵入性技术，可以通过在边界电极处进行的一组阻抗测量来三维重建电组织特性。最近开发的快速神经EIT（FN-EIT）由于在活动期间神经离子通道开放引起的组织阻抗的微小变化，可以对神经元流量进行成像。在imagine，我将积累我在脑神经的FN-EIT方面的经验，并与世界级的视网膜生理学和视觉修复专家合作，将这项技术建立为一种新型的视网膜成像工具。为了实现IMAGINATE的目标，我计划针对视网膜组织的特定特征优化现有的FN-EIT技术，并收集离体数据集来评估光和电刺激下的成像性能，然后在小动物体内进行可行性研究。这项行动的资助将是职业发展的一个基本机会，它将支持我在一个高度创新的跨学科领域接受培训，同时培养专业独立性，并导致有影响力的出版物。此外，imagine的目标与欧盟的“欧洲地平线”方案相一致，特别是致力于卫生研究的关键分组（分组1-卫生），以及致力于开发卫生技术的具体干预领域。

In a number of degenerative retinal diseases, loss of photoreceptor cells leads to irreversible vision loss; implantable retinal prostheses take advantage of the layers of retinal neurons left intact by inducing visual effects through electrical stimulation. The aim of this proposal is to deliver a technique for imaging the functional neural activity of the retina with high spatiotemporal resolution, compact hardware and low cost that would greatly accelerate progress of retinal electrophysiology and optimization of retinal prosthetics pre/post implantation. This novel tool will build on Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT), a non-invasive technique which allows 3D reconstruction of electrical tissue properties from a set of impedance measurements taken at boundary electrodes. The recently developed Fast Neural EIT(FN-EIT) allows imaging of neuronal traffic thanks to the small variation in tissue impedance caused by opening of neural ion channels during activity. Within IMAGINATE, I will build over my experience in FN-EIT for brain and nerve and work with world-class experts in retinal physiology and vision prosthetics to establish this technique as a novel retinalimaging tool. I plan to achieved IMAGINATE's objectives by optimizing existing FN-EIT technology for the specific features of retinal tissue and collecting ex-vivo datasets to assess imaging performance in response to optical and electrical stimulation, before concluding the action with an in-vivo feasibility study on small animals. Funding of this action will be a fundamental opportunity of career development that will support my training in a highly innovative, interdisciplinary field while fostering professional independence and leading to impactful publications. Furthermore, the goals of IMAGINATE align with EU's Horizon Europe programme, specifically the key cluster dedicated to health research (Cluster 1-Health), and the specific Area of Intervention dedicated to developing technologies for health.