Mission of Physiological Imaging Branch
To characterize in vivo human response to nutrient intake though physiologic bioimaging and biosensing technology. To develop top-in-class portable measurement systems with the capacity to reliably, accurately and precisely measure links between nutrient intake, cellular nutrient status change and retinal | visual function across the life-span.
Non-Invasive In-Vivo Imaging of Human Retinal Mitochondrial Function
We are applying state-of-the science technologies to non-invasively measure human retinal mitochondrial function in vivo. The measurement process uses an infrared fundus image to define acquisition boundaries of a retinal metabolic image and subsequently yields measurements of endogenous fluorophores stoichiometrically linked with energy transfer. Dr. SanGiovanni has been involved in work on human imaging of retinal mitochondria since 2005 — he hopes to continue his original work on mitochondrial function in AMD that was stopped in the NEI Clinic. Photos below were taken in our imaging suite and represent a flavoprotein fluorescence map of the human fovea.
Non-Invasive In-Vivo Imaging of Human Retinal Vascular Networks and Blood Flow
We are applying state-of-the science technologies to non-invasively measure human retinal vasculature and blood flow in vivo. The measurement process uses ocular coherence tomography and contrast dye-free angiography at resolutions of ~6um. Photos below were taken in our imaging suite and represent structural aspects of the retinal vasculature with superimposed functional maps of localized blood flow.
