Research Videos

Courtesy of Dr. Taeyoon Son

A sample video to show construction of OCT and OCTA. OCT shows structural information while the OCTA provides flow information in layers with blood vessels. By studying both structural and functional information, we can better diagnose and monitor retinal diseases such as diabetic retinopathy (DR), sickle cell retinopathy (SCR), and potentially Alzheimer’s disease.

Article: Zhang, Qiuxiang, et al. “Functional optical coherence tomography enables in vivo physiological assessment of retinal rod and cone photoreceptors.” Scientific reports 5 (2015): 9595.

https://www.nature.com/articles/srep09595

Transient intrinsic optical signal (IOS) changes have been observed in retinal photoreceptors, suggesting a unique biomarker for eye disease detection. However, clinical deployment of IOS imaging is challenging due to unclear IOS sources and limited signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). Here, by developing high spatiotemporal resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) and applying an adaptive algorithm for IOS processing, we were able to record robust IOSs from single-pass measurements. Transient IOSs, which might reflect an early stage of light phototransduction, are consistently observed in the photoreceptor outer segment almost immediately (4 ms) after retinal stimulation. Comparative studies of dark- and light-adapted retinas have demonstrated the feasibility of functional OCT mapping of rod and cone photoreceptors, promising a new method for early disease detection and improved treatment of diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and other eye diseases that can cause photoreceptor damage.

Optical Coherence tomography (OCT) of hyaloid vessels in the developing eye of mice retinae.

Article: Kim, Tae-Hoon, et al. “Longitudinal OCT and OCTA monitoring reveals accelerated regression of hyaloid vessels in retinal degeneration 10 (rd10) mice.” Scientific reports 9.1 (2019): 1-9.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-53082-9

The hyaloid vascular system (HVS) is known to have an important role in eye development. However, physiological mechanisms of HVS regression and their correlation with developmental eye disorders remain unclear due to technical limitations of conventional ending point examination with fixed tissues. Here, we report comparative optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA) monitoring of HVS regression in wild-type and retinal degeneration 10 (rd10) mice. Longitudinal OCTA monitoring revealed accelerated regression of hyaloid vessels correlated with retinal degeneration in rd10. Quantitative OCT measurement disclosed significant distortions of both retinal thickness and the vitreous chamber in rd10 compared to WT mice. These OCT/OCTA observations confirmed the close relationship between HVS physiology and retinal neurovascular development. The distorted HVS regression might result from retinal hyperoxia or dopamine abnormality due to retinal remodeling in rd10 retina. By providing a noninvasive imaging platform for longitudinal monitoring of HVS regression, further OCT/OCTA study may lead to in-depth understanding of the physiological mechanisms of HVS regression in normal and diseased eyes, which is not only important for advanced study of the nature of the visual system but also may provide insights into the development of better treatment protocols of congenital eye disorders.

Dr. Yao gave this presentation titled “Image Data Fusion in Deep Learning OCTA Segmentation and Classification” about our work at the 2023 Ophthalmic Artificial Intelligence Summit.