Special Report: Noninvasive Multi-Parameter Functional Optical Imaging of the Eye

Advancement in the treatment of blindness depends on the development of new technologies that enable early detection, follow-up, and treatment of disease. The authors describe direct, noninvasive imaging of four parameters: blood flow, blood oximetry, metabolic state, and hidden vasculature, particularly capillaries. These are functional parameters of the retina known to be degraded by retinal disease. The new Retinal Function Imager (Optical Imaging, Ltd., Rehovot, Israel) can image all four parameters as intrinsic reflectance intensity differences over the retina's surface. During the past 2 decades, imaging of small optical signals has been a powerful tool for high-resolution functional mapping in the neocortex. In this article, this technology is applied to the retina and demonstrates a general tool for noninvasively probing retinal function in many modalities. Imaging functional changes before anatomic consequences arise holds promise as a powerful tool for early diagnosis and treatment of retinal disease.