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Cellular microscopy technique may have potential for monitoring keratoconus
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A cellular imaging technique involving multiphoton fluorescence microscopy may allow three-dimensional structural analysis of keratoconic corneas, researchers said. They evaluated the technique in corneas explanted during penetrating keratoplasty.
Hsin-Yuan Tan, MD, and colleagues used a custom-built multiphoton microscope to detect fluorescence within the cell cytoplasm of the keratoconic cornea samples.
The researchers found that the fluorescent epithelial cells around the apical area were elongated and aligned parallel to adjacent collagen fibers. Stromal collagen bundles also showed parallel and centripetal distribution patterns at different depths, according to the study authors.
The cellular imaging approach "may provide important morphologic information for the investigation of the pathogenesis of keratoconus and may have potential in a clinical setting as an in vivo diagnostic and monitoring system for advancing keratoconus," the authors said.
The study is published in the December issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.