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Abstract #71225 Published in IGR 18-3
Imaging individual neurons in the retinal ganglion cell layer of the living eye
Rossi EA; Granger CE; Sharma R; Yang Q; Saito K; Schwarz C; Walters S; Nozato K; Zhang J; Kawakami T; Fischer W; Latchney LR; Hunter JJ; Chung MM; Williams DRProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2017; 114: 586-591
See also comment(s) by Brad Fortune •
Although imaging of the living retina with adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO) provides microscopic access to individual cells, such as photoreceptors, retinal pigment epithelial cells, and blood cells in the retinal vasculature, other important cell classes, such as retinal ganglion cells, have proven much more challenging to image. The near transparency of inner retinal cells is advantageous for vision, as light must pass through them to reach the photoreceptors, but it has prevented them from being directly imaged in vivo. Here we show that the individual somas of neurons within the retinal ganglion cell (RGC) layer can be imaged with a modification of confocal AOSLO, in both monkeys and humans. Human images of RGC layer neurons did not match the quality of monkey images for several reasons, including safety concerns that limited the light levels permissible for human imaging. We also show that the same technique applied to the photoreceptor layer can resolve ambiguity about cone survival in age-related macular degeneration. The capability to noninvasively image RGC layer neurons in the living eye may one day allow for a better understanding of diseases, such as glaucoma, and accelerate the development of therapeutic strategies that aim to protect these cells. This method may also prove useful for imaging other structures, such as neurons in the brain.
Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642; rossiea@pitt.edu.
Full articleClassification:
6.9.2.2 Posterior (Part of: 6 Clinical examination methods > 6.9 Computerized image analysis > 6.9.2 Optical coherence tomography)
6.9.5 Other (Part of: 6 Clinical examination methods > 6.9 Computerized image analysis)
3.13.3 RGC Imaging (Part of: 3 Laboratory methods > 3.13 In vivo imaging)
