Advisory Committee Chair
Xincheng Yao
Advisory Committee Members
Allan C Dobbins
Liu Lei
Donald B Twieg
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2011
Degree Name by School
Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering (MSBME) School of Engineering
Abstract
The primary purpose of my thesis research is to validate parallel confocal recording of intrinsic optical signals (IOSs) correlated with localized retinal photoreceptor responses. IOS imaging promises a noninvasive method for retinal disease detection and treatment evaluation. However, IOS identification of localized retinal dysfunction is still challenging due to the complexity of retinal structure. Stimulus-evoked IOSs have been observed in both photoreceptors and inner retinal neurons. IOS pattern of retinal photoreceptor layer may contain cross-talk noise from inner retinal layers. In order to detect localized retinal photoreceptors response without significant contamination from other retinal volumes, we designed a rapid functional imager for the parallel recording of localized IOSs. In this imager, a microlens array (MLA) based illuminator is employed to simultaneously deliver visible stimulus light for retinal stimulation and near-infrared (NIR) recording light for IOS imaging. The parfocal configuration of the stimulus and recording light illumination enables confocal recording of the stimulus-evoked IOSs. In isolated retinas, rapid MLA imaging has revealed robust IOS activities tightly correlated with localized retinal photoreceptor responses. Moreover, we have also recently demonstrated in vivo confocal detection of stimulus-evoked fast IOSs. We anticipate that further development of the IOS imaging technology may provide a new methodology for high resolution identification of localized retinal dysfunctions associated with eye diseases.
Recommended Citation
Zhang, Qiuxiang, "Parallel Confocal Recording of Localized Retinal Photoreceptor Responses" (2011). All ETDs from UAB. 3449.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/3449