Evaluation of a Metabolic Hyperspectral Retinal Camera (MHRC) in Spectrally Resolved Reflectance and Fluorescence Imaging in a Diverse Population

Hyperspectral retinal imaging results from several consecutive images taken while the filter scans a wide spectral range to obtain one spectrum for each image pixel. The combination of imaging and spectroscopy offered by hyperspectral imaging makes it possible to identify and quantify several specific biomolecules in the retina and the optic nerve, thus paving the way for metabolic imaging of the fundus. Subsequent analysis of the light signal with algorithms and image analysis software tools permits extracting molecular information modulated according to the underlying pathology. This technique thus permits direct, non-invasive and inexpensive diagnosis of pathologies of the retina and systemic pathologies presenting manifestations in the eye.

In this research project, Optina Diagnostics aims to evaluate in a clinical context a novel Metabolic Hyperspectral Retinal Camera (MHRC) based on a mydriatic camera customized for observation of the fundus in combination with a tunable filter, i.e., one permitting selection of a specific wavelength, in order to provide monochromatic light in the visible and near infrared spectrum (energy spectrum between 450 and 900 nm).