Imaging eyes: ocular diagnostics by adaptive optics

*眼科成像的最新进展对理解和治疗导致视力丧失的疾病产生了重大影响。眼睛是一个独特的透明器官，可以对视网膜进行光学成像，视网膜是眼睛后面对光敏感的组织。光学相干层析成像(OCT)是一种常用的诊断成像方式，越来越多地被研究用于实时体积成像。然而，即使具有良好的人眼光学性能，OCT的横向分辨率以及相关的光学成像技术也是有限的。需要自适应光学(AO)来获得在细胞水平上可视化视网膜所需的分辨率。AO最初是为天文成像而开发的，它使用可变形的光学装置对进入眼睛的光进行波前校正，校正角膜和人工晶状体中的缺陷，并允许衍射限制聚焦在视网膜上。我的研究计划的目的是研究新的OCT、AO和相关的高分辨率成像技术，以克服可视化视网膜结构和生物功能的挑战。*短期目标*1)用定量分析推进实时OCT，以指导视网膜医疗程序；*2)研究Wavefront无传感器自适应光学技术用于细胞分辨率活体视网膜成像：*3)展示基于光的视网膜疗法的概念实验。*影响视力的疾病影响加拿大老龄化的人口，给加拿大医疗保健系统带来数十亿美元的直接成本。为眼科临床开发新的高分辨率诊断成像技术，能够更早地发现视网膜退行性变化，并具有更高的灵敏度，对于及时进行视力保护干预至关重要。此外，用于临床前应用的高分辨率和功能性视网膜成像能力的开发有可能加速开发针对广泛的视觉掠夺和神经疾病的新疗法。这项技术开发具有产生新知识产权以及将用于视力研究和视力保健的新型成像系统商业化的强大潜力。**

***Recent advancements in ophthalmic imaging have made significant impacts to understanding and treating diseases leading to vision loss. The eye is a uniquely transparent organ, permitting optical imaging of the retina, the light sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a commonly used diagnostic imaging modality that is increasingly being investigated for real-time volumetric imaging. However, even with the good optical performance of the human eye, the lateral resolution of OCT, and related optical imaging techniques, is limited. Adaptive Optics (AO) is needed to obtain the resolution required to visualize the retina at the cellular level. Originally developed for astronomical imaging, AO performs wavefront correction of the light entering the eye using deformable optics, correcting the imperfections in the cornea and intra-ocular lens and permitting diffraction limited focusing on the retina. The purpose of my research program is to investigate novel OCT, AO, and related high resolution imaging technology to overcome the challenges to visualization of the retinal structure and biological function. ******Short Term Objectives***1) Advance real-time OCT with quantitative analysis to guide retinal medical procedures;***2) Investigate Wavefront Sensorless Adaptive Optics for cellular resolution retinal imaging in vivo:***3) Demonstrate proof of concept experiments for light based retinal therapeutics.******Significance***Diseases affecting vision affect Canada's aging population and amount to billions of dollars in direct costs to the Canadian health care system. The development of novel high resolution diagnostic imaging technology for eye clinics with the potential to detect degenerative changes in the retina earlier and with higher sensitivity is essential to timely vision preserving interventions. Furthermore, the development of high resolution and functional retinal imaging capabilities for preclinical applications has potential to accelerate the development of novel therapies for a broad range of vision robbing and neurological diseases. The technological development has strong potential for generation of novel intellectual property, and for commercialization of novel imaging systems for vision research and vision health care.**