Measuring the Effects of Visual Stimuli on Retinal Blood Vessels and Flow

This project will optimize and compare two different methods to quantify the response of the eye to a visual stimulus: quantifying the effect of stimulation on retinal arterial diameter and blood flow.

This project will optimize and compare two different methods to quantify the response of the eye to a visual stimulus. We will quantify the effect of stimulation on retinal arterial diameter and blood flow. The ultimate goal is to use the optimized technique to uncover important new information about disease mechanisms, and potentially provide new diagnostic biomarkers for disease progression.

This will be the first study of the neurovascular coupling response in glaucoma to:

• Measure the response using video scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (VSLO), providing a wide field of view.
• Map biomechanical strains caused by the response.
• Use VSLO reflectance to quantify the response.
• Combine OCT Angiography with Laser Speckle Flowgraphy to accurately quantify change in blood flow in peripapillary arteries.
• Measure the response in a large, well-characterized cohort with glaucoma.
• Focus explicitly on using existing clinical instruments, allowing easy translation to new diagnostic tools.

By the end of this project, we will have developed and optimized a method to quantify the neurovascular coupling response in eyes with glaucoma, which will then be used in a multi-year longitudinal study aiming to determine the timing of changes in this response relative to disease progression. Such a study would teach us much about the disease process, with potential therapeutic implications. If we find that these changes in the neurovascular coupling response precede glaucomatous progression, then our technique could be further developed and refined for clinical diagnostic use.