If you've ever been sleep-deprived, you've probably had a firsthand
glimpse of the blood vessels in your eyes. But what you haven't seen—and
what many eye care professionals cannot see as well as they would
like—are the vessels closest to the retina, the light-sensitive tissue
at the back of the eye, according to a National Eye Institute (NEI) spokesperson. The federal agency is helping researchers develop new retinal imaging methods to
solve this problem. Such methods have the potential to improve diagnosis
and treatment of common eye diseases like
age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and
diabetic retinopathy.
These diseases can cause a variety of defects in blood vessels inside
the eye, including vessel loss, the growth of abnormal vessels, and
small bulges that can rupture (called aneurysms).
Adaptive optics (AO) is one technology helping to overcome this problem.
It deals with the tendency of light to become distorted as it passes
through different media such as air, water, or living tissue. AO was
originally developed because astronomers wanted to get a clear view of
objects in space, without distortions caused by the atmosphere. But
vision scientists and eye care experts have a similar problem: When
light is shined into the eye, it is distorted by the cornea (the front,
transparent part of the eye) and the lens. AO systems typically use a
sensor to measure the pattern of blurring and a flexible mirror to
correct it.
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