Functional-retinal Imaging Device for the detection of glaucoma

描述（由申请人提供）：本资助的目的是开发和演示一种基于扫描激光检眼镜的新设备，用于视网膜的功能成像。两种基于洪水照明眼底相机的原型设备已经开发出来，并在人类和动物模型（猫和猴子）上进行了测试。给出了在两种相机上进行的初步实验结果。简单地说，两个设备都检测到一个功能信号。为了提高图像的信噪比，提出了一种新的功能性视网膜成像装置。在第一阶段，该设备将只在动物身上进行测试。拨款将使用去除平均或基线图像的标准方法处理功能图像；然后我们计算基线的变化。此外，我们已经开发了使用盲源分离方法和独立分量分析作为更复杂的工具来从视网膜的背景反射率中提取低电平信号的技术。这些技术已经应用于功能性核磁共振成像对脑部扫描的功能信号进行分析。青光眼是一种视网膜神经节细胞的慢性退行性疾病，该装置的临床应用将是早期发现由青光眼等疾病引起的视网膜功能丧失。青光眼折磨着大约300万美国人，其中多达12万人可能是法定失明。不幸的是，由于目前的设备无法检测青光眼早期的神经纤维损失，对青光眼患者的治疗可能会延迟。该装置将被设计用于早期检测整个视网膜局部区域的视网膜功能。该设备将为300多万患有青光眼的美国人提供一种新的早期诊断方法。功能视网膜成像装置（f-RID）将以高度敏感的方式提供显示局部视觉功能下降区域的视网膜图像。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objective of this grant is to develop and demonstrate a new device, based on a scanning laser ophthalmoscope, for functional imaging of the retina. Two prototype devices based on flood illumination fundus cameras have been developed and tested on both human subjects and animal models (cats and monkeys). Preliminary results of experiments conducted on both cameras are presented. Briefly, a functional signal is detected with both devices. To improve the signal to noise ratio a new functional-Retinal Imaging Device (fRID) is proposed. In Phase I the device will be tested on animals only. The grant will process the functional images using both standard methods that remove an average or baseline image; then we calculate changes from the baseline. Additionally, we have developed techniques that use blind source separation methods and independent component analysis as more sophisticated tools to extract the low level signals from the background reflectance of the retina. These techniques have been applied in the analysis of functional signals from brain scans using functional MRI. The application of the clinical device will be in the early detection of loss of retinal function due to diseases such as glaucoma, which is a chronic degenerative disease of the retinal ganglion cells. Glaucoma afflicts about 3 million Americans and of those, up to 120,000 may be legally blind. Unfortunately, treatment to patients suffering from glaucoma may be delayed due to the inability of current devices to detect nerve fiber loss in the early stages of glaucoma. The proposed device will be designed for early detection of retinal function in localized areas of the entire retina. The proposed device will provide a new diagnostic for early detection of glaucoma in the more than three million americans afflicted with this eye disease. The functional-Retinal Imaging Device (f-RID) will offer an image of the retina showing local areas of reduce visual function in a highly sensitive manner.