Localizing light in the eye for diagnostic and therapeutic applications

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The retina of the eye contains light sensitive cells, neurons and blood vessels. Recent adaptive optics technology to correct for the optical effects of eye tissue on light now enables light to be precisely focused onto these structures of the retina at the rear of the eye. As a result, very detailed images are possible, which will assist in the diagnosis and understanding of eye disease due to diabetes. This application has four objectives: 1) to develop an instrument with adaptive optical correction to allow the study of the structural damage due to diabetes at a cellular level in the eyes of children and adolescents; 2) to determine whether the earliest changes associated with diabetic eye disease occur in neural cells or in blood vessels; 3) to use the high-resolution instrument and optical methods to locally test the function of the normal and diabetic retina and visual system and 4) to assess the feasibility of precise delivery of light onto the retina for earlier and better treatment of diabetic eye disease.