Biomedical subjects

Austin Roorda

Publications and source records attributed to Austin Roorda.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Monochromatic ocular wave aberrations in young monkeys.

High-order monochromatic aberrations could potentially influence vision-dependent refractive development in a variety of ways. As a first step in understanding the effects of wave aberration on refractive development, we characterized the maturational changes that take place in the high-order aberrations of infant rhesus monkey eyes. Specifically, we compared the monochromatic wave aberrations of infant and adolescent animals and measured the longitudinal changes in the high-order aberrations of infant monkeys during the early period when emmetropization takes place. Our main findings were that (1) adolescent monkey eyes have excellent optical quality, exhibiting total RMS errors that were slightly better than those for adult human eyes that have the same numerical aperture and (2) shortly after birth, infant rhesus monkeys exhibited relatively larger magnitudes of high-order aberrations predominately spherical aberration, coma, and trefoil, which decreased rapidly to assume adolescent values by about 200 days of age. The results demonstrate that rhesus monkey eyes are a good model for studying the contribution of individual ocular components to the eye's overall aberration structure, the mechanisms responsible for the improvements in optical quality that occur during early ocular development, and the effects of high-order aberrations on ocular growth and emmetropization.

Accommodation, Ocular↗

PubMed2006

High-resolution retinal imaging of cone-rod dystrophy.

PURPOSE: This study examines a patient with cone-rod dystrophy using high-resolution adaptive optics retinal imaging. Conventional ophthalmoscopes provide limited resolution due to their inability to overcome the eye's optical aberrations. In contrast, adaptive optics ophthalmoscopes correct these aberrations to provide noninvasive high-resolution views of the living retina. To date, adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy has been used mainly to examine the normal retina. Here we use adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy to image cone-rod dystrophy in vivo and compare these results with standard clinical tests. DESIGN: Observational case report. METHODS: High-resolution retinal images of a patient with cone-rod dystrophy were obtained with the University of Rochester adaptive optics flood-illuminated ophthalmoscope and the adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope located at the University of Houston and compared with standard clinical tests, including fundus photography, Goldmann visual fields, fluorescein angiography, optical coherence tomography, electroretinography, and multifocal electroretinography. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Direct measurement of cone density and diameter and comparison of adaptive optics images with standard clinical imaging and functional tests. RESULTS: Adaptive optics images were acquired at multiple retinal locations throughout a clinically detected bull's-eye lesion. Within the atrophic regions, we observed large areas devoid of wave-guiding cones. In contrast, regions that appeared relatively spared by clinical examination contained a completely tiled cone mosaic. However, in these areas the cones were abnormally large, resulting in a 6.6-fold reduction from the normal peak cone density (patient peak density: 30 100 cones/mm2, normal peak density: 199 200 cones/mm2). Multifocal electroretinography confirmed a 5.5-fold reduction in amplitude of the central peak (10.8 nanovolts/degree2 vs. 59.8 nanovolts/degree2). CONCLUSIONS: Adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy is a noninvasive technique to observe a patient's retinal pathology directly at a cellular level. It can provide a quantitative measurement of photoreceptor loss in retinal disease.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

MEMS-based adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy.

We have developed a compact, robust adaptive optics (AO) scanning laser ophthalmoscope using a microelectromechanical (MEMS) deformable mirror (DM). Facilitated with a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, the MEMS-DM-based AO operates a closed-loop modal wave aberration correction for the human eye and reduces wave aberrations in most eyes to below 0.1 microm rms. Lateral resolution is enhanced, and images reveal a clear cone mosaic near the foveal center. The significant increase in throughput allows for a confocal pinhole whose diameter is less than the Airy disc of the collection lens, thereby fully exploiting the axial resolution capabilities of the system.

Equipment Design↗

PubMed2005

Direct and noninvasive assessment of parafoveal capillary leukocyte velocity.

PURPOSE: Alterations in leukocyte velocity have been implicated in many retinal disease processes. However, direct and objective assessment of leukocyte velocity in retinal capillaries has been limited by a reliance on invasive contrast dyes that allow leukocyte visualization only for a short time span. The recent application of adaptive optics in a scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) has made long-term imaging of parafoveal leukocyte movement possible without contrast dyes. In this study, using the AOSLO, we demonstrate a new method to investigate retinal parafoveal capillary leukocyte velocity. DESIGN: Experimental study. PARTICIPANTS: Six normal healthy subjects ranging from 25 to 35 years of age with clear ocular media. METHODS: The parafoveal zone of the retina was imaged in all subjects using an AOSLO. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Leukocyte velocity was determined in the parafoveal capillaries including the foveal avascular zone border. Leukocyte velocity was measured directly from movie segments in which the leukocytes were clearly visible. RESULTS: The mean parafoveal leukocyte velocity for 6 subjects was 1.37 mm/second, ranging from 0.77 to 2.10 mm/second. Leukocytes were not visible in all parafoveal capillaries. CONCLUSIONS: Parafoveal capillary leukocyte velocity can be directly and noninvasively measured without the use of contrast dyes using an AOSLO.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Optical slicing of human retinal tissue in vivo with the adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope.

We present imaging results in human retinal tissue in vivo that allowed us to determine the axial resolution of the adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO). The instrument is briefly described, and the imaging results from human subjects are compared with (a) the estimated axial resolution values for a diffraction-limited, double-pass instrument and (b) the measured one for a calibrated diffuse retinal model. The comparison showed that the measured axial resolution, as obtained from optical sectioning of human retinas in vivo, can be as low as 71 microm for a 50 microm confocal pinhole after focusing a 3.5 mm beam with a 100 mm focal-length lens. The axial resolution values typically fall between the predictions from numerical models for diffuse and specular reflectors. This suggests that the reflection from the retinal blood vessel combines diffuse and specular components. This conclusion is supported by the almost universal interpretation that the image of a cylindrical blood vessel exhibits a bright reflection along its apex that is considered specular. The enhanced axial resolution achieved through use of adaptive optics leads to an improvement in the volume resolution of almost 2 orders of magnitude when compared with a conventional scanning laser ophthalmoscope and almost a factor of 3 better than commercially available optical coherence tomographic instruments.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Spatially variant changes in lens power during ocular accommodation in a rhesus monkey eye.

This study investigated the changes in ocular aberrations that occur over the entire lens equatorial diameter during accommodation in iridectomized rhesus monkey eyes to understand the nature of accommodative lenticular deformation. Accommodation was centrally stimulated to a range of different response amplitudes (0 D to approximately 11 D), and ocular aberrations were measured with a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor in both eyes of one previously iridectomized 10-year-old rhesus monkey. At the highest amplitude in the two eyes, aberrations were analyzed over entrance pupil diameters ranging from 3 to 8 mm in steps of 1 mm. Root mean square error of the total measured aberrations, excluding defocus, increased systematically with increasing accommodation from about 1 to 3.5 microns. Spherical aberration became systematically more negative, and vertical coma increased significantly in magnitude with accommodation. There was a strong accommodative change in power near the center of the lens and little change in power at the periphery. At the highest accommodative state, decreasing the analyzed entrance pupil diameter from 8 to 3 mm considerably reduced the wavefront error. The greater increase in optical power near the central region of the lens, combined with an accommodative pupillary miosis, would serve to maximize accommodative refractive change while maintaining acceptable image quality.

Accommodation, Ocular↗

PubMed2004

A population study on changes in wave aberrations with accommodation.

Wave aberrations were measured with a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor (SHWS) in the right eye of a large young adult population when accommodative demands of 0, 3, and 6 D were presented to the tested eye through a Badal system. Three SHWS images were recorded at each accommodative demand and wave aberrations were computed over a 5-mm pupil (through 6th order Zernike polynomials). The accommodative response was calculated from the Zernike defocus over the central 3-mm diameter zone. Among all individual Zernike terms, spherical aberration showed the greatest change with accommodation. The change of spherical aberration was always negative, and was proportional to the change in accommodative response. Coma and astigmatism also changed with accommodation, but the direction of the change was variable. Despite the large inter-subject variability, the population average of the root mean square for all aberrations (excluding defocus) remained constant for accommodative levels up to 3.0 D. Even though aberrations change with accommodation, the magnitude of the aberration change remains less than the magnitude of the uncorrected aberrations, even at high accommodative levels. Therefore, a typical eye will benefit over the entire accommodative range (0-6 D) if aberrations are corrected for distance viewing.

Accommodation, Ocular↗

PubMed2004

Effects of optically imposed astigmatism on emmetropization in infant monkeys.

PURPOSE: Although astigmatism is prevalent during early infancy, the influence of astigmatism on early refractive development is unclear. This study was undertaken to determine the effects of astigmatism on emmetropization in monkeys. METHODS: Infant rhesus monkeys (n = 39) were exposed to optically simulated astigmatism in one or both eyes from approximately 1 to 4 months of age. With-the-rule, against-the-rule, and oblique astigmatisms were optically simulated by appropriately orienting the principal meridians of the spherocylindrical treatment lenses (+1.50 -3.00 D x 90 degrees, 180 degrees, 45 degrees, or 135 degrees; i.e., +1.50 and -1.50 D powers in the two principal meridians). Refractive development was assessed every 2 to 3 weeks by cycloplegic retinoscopy, keratometry and corneal videotopography, and A-scan ultrasonography. Data from 19 control monkeys, including 3 animals that were reared with binocular plano lenses, were used for comparison purposes. RESULTS: Most of the cylinder-lens-reared monkeys, regardless of the orientation of the imposed astigmatism, showed clear signs of either hyperopic or myopic growth compared with control monkeys. The distributions of refractive error and vitreous chamber depth both showed bimodal patterns that differed from normal by amounts equivalent to the optical powers of the principal meridians of the treatment lenses. More frequently, refractive development was biased toward the eye's least-hyperopic focal plane. The refractive changes were mainly axial. After lens removal, the lens-reared monkeys recovered and as a group exhibited refractive errors and axial dimensions similar to those in control monkeys. CONCLUSIONS: In the presence of significant amounts of astigmatism, emmetropization is directed toward one of the two focal planes associated with the astigmatic principal meridians and not the circle of least confusion. These results suggest that the mechanisms responsible for emmetropization are insensitive to stimulus orientation and the global form of the retinal image. It appears that emmetropization seeks out the image plane that contains the maximum effective contrast integrated across spatial frequency and stimulus orientation.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Deconvolution of adaptive optics retinal images.

We quantitatively demonstrate the improvement to adaptively corrected retinal images by using deconvolution to remove the residual wave-front aberrations. Qualitatively, deconvolution improves the contrast of the adaptive optics images. In this work we demonstrate that quantitative information is also increased by investigation of the improvement to cone classification due to the reduction in confusion of adjacent cones because of the extended wings of the point-spread function. The results show that the error in classification between the L and M cones is reduced by a factor of 2, thereby reducing the number of images required by a factor of 4.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2003

Wave aberrations of the isolated crystalline lens.

A method to measure wave aberrations in the isolated crystalline lens is demonstrated. The method employs a laser scanning technique in which the trajectories of narrow refracted laser beams are measured for an array of sample positions incident on the lens. The local slope of the emerging wavefront is calculated for each sample position, and a least squares procedure is used to fit a Zernike polynomial function to define the wave aberration. Measurements of the aberrations of an isolated porcine lens and macaque lens undergoing changes in accommodative state with mechanical stretching are shown. Many aberrations were present, but negative spherical aberration dominated. In the macaque lens, many aberrations underwent systematic changes with accommodation, most notably the 4th order spherical aberration, which became more negative, and the 6th order spherical aberration, which progressed from negative to positive.

Accommodation, Ocular↗

PubMed2003

Predicting and assessing visual performance with multizone bifocal contact lenses.

PURPOSE: To investigate how bifocal contact lenses, when combined with the aberrations of the eye, will affect visual performance. Also, to investigate the relationship between the patient's predicted and actual visual benefit with bifocal contact lenses. METHODS: The monochromatic aberrations of 16 subjects were measured and used to simulate visual quality with three bifocal contact lens designs. Actual and computed visual benefit was compared for an Acuvue bifocal contact lens in 5 of the 16 subjects. RESULTS: Subjects were predicted to have either a bifocal response or an increase in depth of focus for all lens designs. Our subjects were predicted to have a decrease in visual benefit for distance viewing and a gain in visual benefit at near compared with not wearing a contact lens. We found a statistically significant association between our subjects' predicted and actual visual benefit with the Acuvue Bifocal contact lens (r = 0.685, p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Bifocal contact lens designs, when combined with the aberrations of the eye, will not always provide bifocal vision. Visual quality with a bifocal contact lens can be predicted based on a patient's ocular aberrations.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Optimal pupil size in the human eye for axial resolution.

A computer model that incorporates the monochromatic aberrations of the eye is used to determine the optimal pupil size for axial and lateral resolution as it applies to retinal imaging instruments such as the confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope. The optimal pupil size for axial resolution, based on the aberrations of 15 subjects, is 4.30 mm +/- 1.19 mm standard deviation (sd), which is larger than that for lateral resolution [2.46 mm +/- 0.66 mm (sd)]. When small confocal pinholes are used, the maximum detected light is obtained with a pupil size of 4.90 mm +/- 1.04 mm sd. It is recommended to use larger pupil sizes in imaging applications where axial resolution is desired.

Humans↗

PubMed2002

Optical fiber properties of individual human cones.

The tuning properties of the ensemble of cone photoreceptors is due to the tuning properties of individual cones convolved with the disarray in pointing direction between the cones. We used direct imaging with the Rochester adaptive optics ophthalmoscope to directly image these properties in individual cones in living human eyes. We found that cone disarray is very small, accounting for less than 1% of the breadth of the tuning function of an ensemble of cones. The implication is that the optical fiber properties of an ensemble of cones mimic the tuning properties of a single cone.

Color Perception↗

PubMed2002

Monochromatic aberrations provide an odd-error cue to focus direction.

Monochromatic aberrations that exist in the human eye will cause differences in the appearance of the point-spread function (PSF) depending on whether there is positive or negative defocus. We establish whether it is possible to use these differences in the PSF to distinguish the direction of defocus. The monochromatic aberrations of eight subjects were measured with a Hartmann-Shack wave-front sensor. Subjects also performed a forced-choice psychophysical task in which they decided whether a blurred target was defocused in front of or behind the retina. The optical system for the psychophysical task was designed to isolate the blur due to monochromatic aberrations as the only odd-error cue to the direction of defocus. Shack-Hartmann measurements showed that monochromatic aberrations increase as the pupil size increases. On average, the correct/incorrect responses for discriminating differences in the PSF for different directions of defocus were 54/46 for a 1-mm pupil and 83/17 for a 5-mm pupil, representing more than an eight-fold increase in discriminability. This discriminability extended for large amounts of defocus and also for more complex targets, such as letters. Sensitivity to the differences in the PSF for different directions of defocus increased as monochromatic aberrations increased, particularly for the even-order aberrations, which give rise to an odd-error focus cue. It was found that the ability to discriminate PSFs for different directions of defocus varied among individuals but, in general, depended on the magnitude of monochromatic aberrations.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Applying wavefront sensors and corneal topography to keratoconus.

We report preliminary results from a study to create custom optics (contact lenses) for persons with the eye disease Keratoconus. Custom optics are intended to correct for higher order aberrations which cannot currently be corrected with conventional contact lenses. A lens design algorithm has been developed that utilizes both wavefront sensor data and corneal topography data. The lenses will be formed from thick, pre-fabricated soft contact lenses using laser ablation. Preliminary ablation of these lenses is demonstrated using a femptosecond Ti: Sapphire (Ti:Al2O3) laser system.

Algorithms↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Theoretical modeling and evaluation of the axial resolution of the adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope.

We present axial resolution calculated using a mathematical model of the adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO). The peak intensity and the width of the axial intensity response are computed with the residual Zernike coefficients after the aberrations are corrected using adaptive optics for eight subjects and compared with the axial resolution of a diffraction-limited eye. The AOSLO currently uses a confocal pinhole that is 80 microm, or 3.48 times the width of the Airy disk radius of the collection optics, and projects to 7.41 microm on the retina. For this pinhole, the axial resolution of a diffraction-limited system is 114 microm and the computed axial resolution varies between 120 and 146 microm for the human subjects included in this study. The results of this analysis indicate that to improve axial resolution, it is best to reduce the pinhole size. The resulting reduction in detected light may demand, however, a more sophisticated adaptive optics system. The study also shows that imaging systems with large pinholes are relatively insensitive to misalignment in the lateral positioning of the confocal pinhole. However, when small pinholes are used to maximize resolution, alignment becomes critical.

Computer Simulation↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluating the lateral resolution of the adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope.

We present a statistical assessment of the lateral resolution of the adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO). We adopt a 2-D Gaussian function to approximate the AOSLO point spread function (PSF), which is dominated by the residual wavefront aberration and characterized by the Strehl ratio. Thus, we derive the lateral resolution in the presence of residual wave aberrations, which is inversely proportional to square root of the Strehl ratio. The modeling, while not sufficient in describing the fine structure of the real PSF, demonstrates good conformance to the lateral cross section of the real PSF. With this model, the lateral resolution of our current AOSLO was computed to be 1.65 to 2.33 microm, which agreed well with the actual result. We also reveal the relationships among the lateral resolution and other three measures of the AOSLO imaging property including the Strehl ratio, the PSF, and the root mean square (rms) of wavefront aberration.

Benchmarking↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Dynamic visual stimulus presentation in an adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope.

PURPOSE: To demonstrate the technology and application of synchronized laser modulation in the adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO), which makes it possible to deliver adaptive optics (AO) corrected stimuli to the retina of a living eye and to record the precise retinal location where the stimulus has landed. METHODS: The modification involves the development of custom software to control a high frequency pixel clock and a waveform generator board in synchrony with the scanning mirrors. The experiment involves a measurement of visual acuity with and without aberrations correction with AO. RESULTS: The system can project stimuli at a frame rate of 30 Hz with high sampling resolution (7.5 seconds of arc), thereby limiting the quality of the retinal image to the level of AO correction. Visual acuity in six subjects is improved on average by 33% after aberration correction across a 5.89-mm pupil. CONCLUSIONS: Dynamic visual stimulus presentation in an AOSLO works effectively and expands the scope of AOSLO applications. S5

Adult↗