MCW researchers to develop adaptive optics retinal imaging tool for National Eye Institute
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Maureen Mack (mmack@mcw.edu)
Director of Media Relations
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For Immediate Release
November 7, 2014
MCW researchers to develop adaptive optics retinal imaging tool for National Eye Institute A Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) research team has entered a two-year, $230,000 contract with the National Institutes of Health’s National Eye Institute to investigate the development and use of a custom adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscope for human research.
Alfredo Dubra, Ph.D., assistant professor and co-director of the MCW Eye Institute’s Advanced Ocular Imaging Program (AOIP), will work on the project in collaboration with Joseph Carroll, Ph.D., the Richard O. Schultz, MD/ Ruth Works professor in ophthalmology and co-director of MCW Eye Institute’s AOIP.
Adaptive optics is a technology used to improve the clarity of imaging systems by reducing distortions produced by incoming wavefronts—in much the same way a telescope is adapted to reduce the distortion of the earth’s atmosphere. Custom adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopes (AOSLO) use adaptive optics technology and apply it to imaging for the eye. AOSLO’s are able to generate a view of the retina with a high degree of spatial sensitivity and produce the highest resolution images of the living retina ever seen. Such clarity allows for eye disease to be accurately monitored and tracked as it progresses throughout the retina. These insights yield a better understanding of eye conditions such as glaucoma, macular degeneration and other diseases of the retina.
In this project, Drs. Dubra and Carroll will assist Johnny Tam, Ph.D., of the National Eye Institute (NEI) to develop a working AOSLO for NEI’s Intramural Research Program with the intention of accelerating the testing and treatment of eye disease with the development and use of AOSLO technology.
About the Medical College of Wisconsin
The Medical College of Wisconsin is the state’s only private medical school and health sciences graduate school. Founded in 1893, it is dedicated to leadership and excellence in education, patient care, research and community engagement. More than 1,200 students are enrolled in MCW’s medical school and graduate school programs in Milwaukee. New regional medical education campuses are scheduled to open in Green Bay in 2015, and in Central Wisconsin in 2016, with each recruiting initial classes of 20-25 students. A major national research center, MCW is the largest research institution in the Milwaukee metro area and second largest in Wisconsin. In FY 2012-13, faculty received approximately $160 million in external support for research, teaching, training and related purposes, of which approximately $144 million is for research. This total includes highly competitive research and training awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Annually, MCW faculty direct or collaborate on more than 2,000 research studies, including clinical trials. Additionally, more than 1,350 physicians provide care in virtually every specialty of medicine for more than 425,000 patients annually.
