The National Eye Institute (NEI) awarded a $237,996 Project Grant (CFDA 93.867 - Vision Research) to The Regents of the University of Colorado (University of Colorado) to investigate new methods for high-resolution, wide-field, 3D imaging of the cornea. The project aims to develop an imaging approach using speckle illumination holography that can capture detailed corneal structures, including cellular and nerve morphology, in living human eyes. This new technique is intended to overcome...
This Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (NEI), under CFDA program 93.867 Vision Research, will support the development of terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) instruments to map corneal hydration gradients. The $225,772 award, effective August 1, 2024 through July 31, 2026, will enable researchers at Stony Brook University to: Determine the accuracy of a THz-TDS corneal scanner in measuring hydration levels of corneal phantoms and ex vivo models. Evaluate the sensitivity...
The National Eye Institute (NEI) awarded a $412,285 Project Grant under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) to Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) to validate an advanced transepithelial corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) technology. The goal is to develop a more effective CXL procedure that can strengthen the cornea without requiring removal of the surface epithelium, which often leads to complications. The key products and services to be delivered include: Constructing an...
The National Eye Institute (NEI) awarded a $713,964 Project Grant (CFDA 93.867 Vision Research) to the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to develop a prototype of a contact lens-based intraocular pressure (IOP) sensor using atomic force microscopy. The overall goal is to create an accurate, safe, and wearable IOP monitor that can improve the clinical management of glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness. The 5-year project aims to: 1) Develop the prototype contact lens...
This Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (NEI), under the Vision Research federal grant program (CFDA 93.867), provides $230,430 to the University of Maryland, Baltimore to develop robust corneal biomechanical biomarkers for glaucoma using Brillouin microscopy. The two-year project, running from Jul 1, 2024 to Jun 30, 2026, aims to compare the Brillouin corneal modulus between primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients and healthy controls, as well as assess the effect of...
This Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (NEI), under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867), will support the development of a visible-to-near-infrared spanning optical coherence tomography (OCT) system for advanced retinal imaging. The $673,747 award to New York University (NYU) School of Medicine aims to create a high-resolution OCT system capable of visualizing and quantifying key biomarkers related to aging and early age-related macular degeneration (AMD), including...
The National Eye Institute (NEI) awarded a $615,979 Project Grant under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) to Wayne State University to investigate a promising peptide-based combination therapy that targets hyperglycemia-responsive circuits in the cornea to prevent and treat diabetes-induced corneal complications. The 4-year project aims to: 1) establish the therapeutic role of Thymosin beta 4 (TB4) and Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP) as a combination treatment against diabetic...
This Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (NEI), under the federal Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867), provides $306,462 in funding to Ifocus Imaging LLC to develop a software platform, OCT-ART-DR, that will automate the diagnosis and staging of diabetic retinopathy (DR) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) imaging and artificial intelligence. The project aims to improve AI-based segmentation of OCTA image features relevant to DR, including non-perfusion...
This $176,550 Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (NEI)'s Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) will support research to optimize C-Met signaling to enhance corneal epithelial homeostasis. The goal is to determine if inhibiting the negative regulation of the C-Met receptor can prolong its signaling activity and accelerate corneal wound healing. The research will be conducted by the University of Louisville and will involve in vitro studies to block C-Met ubiquitylation and in...
This $394,285 Project Grant, awarded by the National Eye Institute (NEI) under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867), aims to develop novel decorin-based drugs to prevent corneal scarring and neovascularization. The University of Houston System, a Hispanic Serving Institution, will lead the 5-year research effort to characterize the binding interactions between decorin and its targets, TGF-β1 and VEGFR2. The goal is to engineer decorin mimetics with enhanced affinity to inhibit these...
IN VIVO HIGH-DEFINITION 3D CORNEAL IMAGING - THE CORNEA, THE OUTERMOST WINDOW OF OUR VISUAL SYSTEM, IS VULNERABLE TO VARIOUS TYPES OF INFECTIONS AND DISEASES. CORNEAL DISEASE IS ONE OF THE LEADING CAUSES OF VISUAL DEFICIENCY AND BLINDNESS, AND IS CONSIDERED THE SECOND MAJOR CAUSE OF BLINDNESS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. THERE ARE NEARLY 5 MILLION BILATERALLY CORNEAL BLIND PERSONS WORLDWIDE, AND AN ESTIMATED 23 MILLION PEOPLE AFFECTED BY UNILATERAL CORNEAL BLINDNESS GLOBALLY. IN A CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE, CORNEAL DISEASES AFFECT NEARLY 300,000 PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES, WITH FUCHS' DYSTROPHY AFFECTING 4% OF PEOPLE AGED OVER 40. GIVEN THE LARGE PREVALENCE OF CORNEAL DISEASE AND THE NEAR-IMPOSSIBILITY OF PERFORMING BIOPSY, HIGH-DEFINITION CORNEAL IMAGING IS NEEDED TO ASSIST CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS, EVALUATE PROGRESSION OF DISEASES, AND TREATMENT. ADDITIONALLY, THE CORNEA IS THE MOST COMMONLY TRANSPLANTED TISSUE WORLDWIDE. GABOR-DOMAIN OPTICAL COHERENCE MICROSCOPY (GDOCM) IS A HIGH-RESOLUTION, NON-INVASIVE IMAGING TECHNOLOGY THAT CAN VISUALIZE MICROSCOPIC STRUCTURES IN VIVO IN 3D. PRELIMINARY DATA SUGGEST THAT GDOCM HAS THE FOLLOWING KEY ADVANTAGES OVER EXISTING CORNEAL IMAGING TECHNIQUES, WHICH INCLUDE SPECULAR AND CONFOCAL MICROSCOPY: 1) 10-100X INCREASE IN FIELD OF VIEW - THIS WILL LEAD TO MORE ACCURATE QUALIFICATION OF THE CORNEAL TISSUE, SINCE A LARGER AREA CAN BE ASSESSED; 2) SIMULTANEOUS MEASURE OF CORNEAL THICKNESS, QUANTIFICATION OF ENDOTHELIAL CELL DENSITY, AS WELL AS IDENTIFICATION OF MORPHOLOGICAL VARIATIONS DUE TO CORNEAL DISEASE - THIS WILL LEAD TO FULL CORNEAL EVALUATION IN ONE INSTRUMENT; 3) 3D IMAGING CAPABILITY AT THE CELLULAR LEVEL OF THE MOSAIC OF TRANSLUCENT CORNEAL CELLS - THIS WILL ENABLE A DETAILED UNDERSTANDING THE VOLUMETRIC PROGRESSION OF THE DISEASES. WE HAVE ASSEMBLED AN EXCEPTIONALLY STRONG TEAM OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATORS TO COLLABORATE ON THIS PROPOSAL, AND WITH THEIR HELP WE HAVE IDENTIFIED FOUR USE CASES FOR CLINICAL APPLICATION OF OUR DUAL-IMAGING TECHNOLOGY TO IMAGE THE CORNEA WITH VOLUMETRIC CELLULAR-RESOLUTION. WE ENVISION THAT IN THE FUTURE THE DUAL OCT (OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY) AND GDOCM INSTRUMENT ENABLED BY THIS PHASE II SBIR PROPOSAL WILL PROVIDE AN IMAGE-GUIDANCE METHOD TO ASSIST CLINICIANS IN THE ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT OF CORNEAL DISEASES AND OTHER DISEASES AFFECTING THE ANTERIOR SEGMENT OF THE EYE, INCLUDING DIABETES AND GLAUCOMA.