Noninvasive assessment of metabolic processes that sustain regeneration of human retinal visual pigments (visual cycle) is essential to improve ophthalmic diagnostics and to accelerate development of new treatments to oounter retinal diseases. Fluorescent vitamin A derivatives, which are the chemical intem1ediates of these processes, are highly sensitive to UV light; thus, safe analyses of these processes in humans are currently beyond the reach of even the most modern ocular imaging modalities. We present a compact, two-photon-excited fluorescence scanning laser ophthalmosoope and spectrally resolved images of the human retina based on two-photon excitation (TPE) with near-infrared light. A custom Er: fiber laser with integrated pulse selection, along with intelligent postprocessing of data, enabled excitation with low laser power and precise measurement of weak signals. Our work establishes a TPE instrument and measurement method for noninvasive imaging of the human retina. This approachemical opens new possibilities for monitoring eye diseases in the earliest stages
About the speaker
Jakub Bogusławski was invited to present an ICTER seminar on In vivo imaging of the human eye using a two-photon-excited fluorescence scanning laser ophthalmoscope.
