Imaging Focal Hypoxia in Diabetic Retinopathy

描述（由申请人提供）：糖尿病视网膜病变是美国工作年龄失明的主要原因。在这些患者中，在视网膜内层存在新血管的病理性生长。这些不良形成的血管破裂，出血进入视网膜，模糊视力。目前对这些患者的治疗是检测新生血管形成并消融血管周围的组织，旨在减少或消除进一步的血管生成反应。有人提出，新血管的形成是对局部组织缺氧的反应，但此时不可能确定视网膜中缺氧的焦点区域。 Oxygen Enterprises开发了一种安全、准确和稳健的方法，能够检测组织中的局灶性缺氧。通过第一阶段SBIR赠款，该公司计划将其技术应用于理解和测量眼睛视网膜中的氧气。最初的应用将是生物医学研究。长期目标是将这项技术应用于临床实践，使临床医生能够更早、更有效地诊断和治疗糖尿病视网膜病变患者。 该公司提议开发一种磷光寿命成像系统，该系统将为临床医生提供一种光学方法，该方法可以产生地形图，清楚地识别缺氧的焦点区域，并将其与常氧区域区分开来。 在第一阶段，该公司建议合成克数量的新Oxyphors（磷光体），以适合临床前测试，并构建用于眼科研究的微创成像系统。该成像系统将被组装和调整，用于测量两种动物模型（小猪和大鼠）视网膜中的氧气，现有的成像软件将被修改成一个技术上合格和用户友好的操作系统。 Oxygen Enterprises的成像系统预计将提供视网膜组织中局灶性缺氧的灵敏和特异性检测和定量-这预计将允许更早和更准确地诊断视网膜病变-以及具有高度稳定性和可靠性的诊断系统，提供清晰和明确的视网膜病理显示。重点将是使该系统方便用户，并以合理的费用提供。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in working age Americans. In these patients there is pathologic growth of new blood vessels in the inner retina. These poorly formed blood vessels burst, bleeding into the retina and obscuring vision. Current treatment for these patients is to detect the neovascular formations and ablate tissue around the vessels, intending to reduce or eliminate further angiogenic response. It is proposed that new blood vessels are formed in response to local tissue hypoxia, but it is not possible at this time to identify focal areas of hypoxia in the retina. Oxygen Enterprises has developed a safe, accurate and robust method that is capable of detecting focal hypoxia in tissues. Through this Phase I SBIR Grant, the company proposes to apply their technology to the understanding and measuring oxygen in the retina of the eye. Initial application will be in biomedical research. Longer term goals will be to apply this technology into clinical practice, allowing clinicians to diagnose and treat patients with diabetic retinopathy earlier and more effectively. The company proposes to develop a phosphorescence lifetime imaging system that will provide an opticalmethod for the clinician that yields a topographic map, clearly identifying focal areas of hypoxia and differentiating them from areas of normoxia. During Phase 1 the company proposes to synthesize gram quantities of a new Oxyphors (phosphor) for suitable for pre-clinical testing and to construct a minimally invasive imaging system for use in ophthalmological research. The imaging system will be assembled and adapted for measuring oxygen in the retina of two animal models, piglets and rats, and the existing imaging software will be revised into a technically competent and user-friendly operating system. Oxygen Enterprises' imaging system is expected to offer sensitive and specific detection and quantification of focal hypoxia in retinal tissue - which is anticipated to allow earlier and more accurate diagnosis of retinopathy - and a diagnostic system with high stability and reliability, providing a clear and unambiguous display of retinal pathology. Emphasis will be on making the system user friendly and on providing it at a reasonable cost.