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Adaptive optics allow ophthalmologists to visualize photoreceptors
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WAILEA, Hawaii — Adaptive optics, already in use in astronomy tools, are giving ophthalmologists the opportunity to visualize cone photoreceptor cells in the human eye for early disease detection and observation of disease progression.
 Judy E. Kim |
"Let's talk about why we cannot visualize as well as we want to — that's because of the optical aberration," Judy E. Kim, MD, said at Retina 2009. "Advanced optics corrects optical aberration and allows visualization of these images in detail."
The advanced optics system consists of a wavefront sensor that measures incoming light, a wavefront correction device that compensates for the aberration present in the light and a software package that controls the interaction between these two components, Dr. Kim explained.
"With [advanced optics], we can monitor the reflectivity of cones over time, determine the spectral identity of individual cones, detect the loss of single cone photoreceptors — we're talking about a single cell — and directly measure cone density," she said.
Looking ahead, Dr. Kim said the goals with advanced optics are to decrease cost and size of current systems, enhance design to be patient and clinician friendly, combine advanced optics with other imaging modalities such as optical coherence tomography and improve resolution to enable imaging of rod photoreceptors.