Multimodality optical coherence tomography for non-invasive imaging of the structure, function and metabolism of biological tissue

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Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is currently the most advanced, non-invasive, ophthalmic diagnostic method, that provides 3D images of the human eye in real time with cellular level resolution. OCT can also measure blood flow and physiological responses from neural tissue. Dr. Bizheva's research group was the first to demonstrate recently reproducible functional OCT (fOCT) recordings from visually stimulated retinas in living animals. This pioneering work sets the background for future studies, where fOCT can be developed as a non-invasive alternative to invasive methods such as electroretinography (ERG), for clinical evaluation of retinal function in patients with potentially blinding retinal diseases. Currently, fOCT is in its infancy and there are a number of unresolved technical issues, related to the system's spatial and temporal resolution, SNR, imaging probe designs, and the procedures for the extraction, display and correct interpretation of the fOCT data. Here we present a research program designed to develop further the fOCT technology. We propose to resolve the technical problems by: a) use of novel light sources and detectors; b) implementation of fast line- or en-face scanning; c) utilizing FPGA / GPU technology to improve the data collection rate; and d) developing novel image processing algorithms for efficient extraction of the functional information. We will test and validate the fOCT in animal models of retinal diseases. The outcome of the proposed research program will lead to a novel, clinically viable technology for early diagnostics of potentially blinding diseases, monitoring the effectiveness of drug or surgical therapies, and basic studies of the origins and stages of development of retinal diseases. FOCT could have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of Canadians and the treatment of debilitating or life threatening diseases. The proposed program will be carried out by undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral level researchers. Funding is requested for their salaries, travel, materials, and costs associated with publishing results. Canada will directly benefit from the training of these researchers through the new technologies and medical applications they develop in the course of their training.