Technology Overview

Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in Asia and around the world. Glaucoma is caused by irregularities in the ocular aqueous outflow system, which leads to elevated intraocular pressure and the death of retinal ganglion cells, resulting in vision loss. High-resolution visualization of the aqueous outflow system inside the eye would be extremely useful in diagnosing disease and for monitoring the effects of medical and surgical interventions that lower intraocular pressure. Currently available ocular imaging devices in general are unable to deliver high-resolution images for the visualization of the iridocorneal angle comprising of the trabecular meshwork (TM), which is an essential part of the aqueous outflow system of the eye. A non-contact, in vivo ocular imaging system for recording high-resolution (sub-micrometer) images of the trabecular meshwork using Bessel-Gauss beam scanned light-sheet fluorescence microscopy is offered. The optical sectioning capability of this system helps in obtaining 3D volumetric images of the trabecular meshwork of an intact eye without any physical dissection. This system addresses some of the unmet clinical needs in ophthalmology and are targeted towards clinicians for the diagnosis and monitoring of the aqueous outflow system of the eye.

Technology Features, Specifications and Advantages

This system offers a non-contact, non-invasive method for in vivo ocular imaging. The use of Bessel beam based light-sheet imaging technology helps in attaining exceptional image quality with reduced scattering and shadowing artefacts, even in the presence of highly scattering structures. Utilizing the fluorescence imaging modality, high contrast images can be achieved. The invariant focal volume of the Bessel beam light-sheet helps in capturing a large field of view in high-resolution and also helps in achieving optical sectioning capabilities. The lateral resolution of the system is better than 780 nm and the axial resolution is better than 2.5 micrometer. These features combined together results in unprecedented imaging of the trabecular meshwork. The state of the art AS-OCT, ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) and gonioscopy systems are unable to provide such high-resolution images of the trabecular meshwork. The technology is based on inexpensive components and does not require extensive expertise to operate.

Potential Applications

• Ophthalmology, specifically glaucoma diagnosis and monitoring.
• Being a non-contact, sub-micron resolution imaging system, it has the potential to support many other bio-imaging areas.
• Optical sectioning capability can also be exploited for engineering and metrology applications.

Customer Benefit

• An ophthalmological device targeting currently unmet clinical needs.
• The device cost is expected to be lower than existing high-resolution ocular imaging systems.
• It does not require extensive expertise to operate.
• The non-contact nature of the inspection system reduces chances of infection.