PUBLIC TALK: The How and the Why of Live Cells Imaging in the Retina

A public lecture by Robert J. Zawadzki, Assistant Research Professor, Ophthalmology, University of California, Davis.

Routine imaging of live cells in the human eye is one of the great achievements of modern Optical Engineering that has been just recently accomplished in both clinical and basic science. Historically there were physical limitations such as aberrations of human eye, to the resolution (image quality) of retinal images that could be captured with current commercial grade imagining systems. Novel retinal imaging instruments overcome this limitation by allowing visualization of single cells within the retina of living eye offering resolution, sensitivity and specificity that is still not available in most clinical practices. This is why the future commercialization of cellular resolution retinal imaging has the potential to truly revolutionize how we diagnose and monitor progression and treatment of many eye diseases.

In this public lecture, Dr Robert Zawadzki will review the progress that is being made in developing human (clinical) and animal (mice) high resolution retinal imaging systems.

He will describe basic operating principles of cellular resolution in-vivo retinal imaging modalities including adaptive optics (AO) and its combination with optical coherence tomography (OCT) and scanning light ophthalmoscopy (SLO). Dr Zawadzki will also discuss costs and benefits of live cell imaging including examples of current and possible future applications of these technologies.

This lecture is part of the 2016 LightTALKS Series, where scientists, engineers and artists talk about optics and photonics, and how light-based technologies promote sustainable development and provide solutions to worldwide challenges in energy, education, agriculture, communications and health. The series is co-sponsored by the UWA Institute of Advanced Studies, the Imaging and Informatics Group at the Lions Eye Institute, The Optical Society, its UWA chapter, and SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics.