title: Functional optical coherence tomography enables in vivo physiological assessment of retinal rod and cone photoreceptors.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294.
authors.forename: Qiuxiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294.
authors.forename: Rongwen
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294.
authors.forename: Benquan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294.
authors.forename: Jeffrey D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Messinger
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294.
authors.forename: Christine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Curcio
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 [2] Department of Ophthalmology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 [3] Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607.
authors.forename: Xincheng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yao
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D011859:Radiography; D011894:Rana pipiens; D017949:Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D017948:Retinal Rod Photoreceptor Cells / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D059629:Signal-To-Noise Ratio; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence