Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: The first Retinal Leakage Analyzer (RLA) developed by our group was based on a prototype Zeiss SLO (Carl Zeiss, Germany). It was considered that the development of a RLA based on a commercial SLO system would be an important step in order to make this new clinical method of mapping alterations of permeability of blood-retinal barrier (BRB) available to other research groups. Methods: Hardware modifications introduced in the Heidelberg SLO retinal angiograph (Heidelberg Engineering, Germany) included the replacement of the confocal system pin hole and the addition of a switch to select automatic repositioning of the confocal plane. This allows improved performance for fluorescence analysis of the retina and vitreous while maintaining its original functionalities. Data processing includes both 1- and 2-dimensional signal processing. After an initial 2D deconvolution for each confocal plane followed by the alignment of the confocal planes, a 1D deconvolution is performed to establish the real fluorescein concentration distribution along the retina and vitreous. Results: The modified Heidelberg SLO based RLA was tested in a series of normal and diabetic eyes, including two eyes three days after focal laser treatment. This new RLA-system allows for better identification of the Leaking Sites in diabetes showing well their relationship with the retinal vasculature. Conclusion: This new RLA-system, based on the Heidelberg SLO, maps localized alterations of the BRB with improved resolution while simultaneously imaging the retina.
Keywords: 388 diabetic retinopathy • 429 image processing • 460 macula/fovea