Grant: Collaborative Health Research Projects

Eye doctors use lenses to look inside the back of the eye, at the retina, to search for diseases*causing vision problems. With these lenses, they can only see the surface of the retina. Also,*what they see is rarely recorded. Eye-witness testimony of the eye doctor is how clinical*diagnosis is done at this time. A new technology called OCT can show pictures of the retina*below the surface. These pictures are recorded first and then analyzed by the eye doctor.*Since these devices only see a small area of the retina at a time, eye doctors prefer the old*way of looking through the retina directly using lenses.*We propose to develop a new OCT scanner that can record a picture of the full retina, the*same or better than the area seen with lenses directly, so doctors dont miss anything. At the*same time, OCT pictures show what's below the surface, like blood vessels. Since the retina*pictures are recorded, these can be interpreted and discussed by more than one doctor, and*event sent to another clinic for more analysis and expert opinion.*We propose to develop computer programs that use equations to make measurements from*these pictures. So not only can the doctor see below the retina over a wide area, they can*also get measurements that let them decide if a region inside the retina is healthy or if there is*some problem such as damaged cells in the retina, poor or damaged blood supply, or any*other damage.*The OCTSurfer technology that we propose has the potential to make it easy for doctors to*find diseases by making detailed and minute measurements that are difficult to make visually.*This will lower the chances of errors, like when something is judged to be a problem when it*isnt, or when a problem is missed. People living far from cities can benefit by sending their*images to a eye doctor in a city clinic. Optometrists could use OCTSurfer to screen for*disease and refer people to eye specialists for proper diagnosis.