QUB/2485/23 Contract for for a Compact Multi-modal and Multi-scale Retinal Imaging System

Multiple research groups within QUB are addressing the earliest changes of disease at the complex intersection between normal ageing and early pathology in AMD (Peto, Hogg, Lengyel), Diabetic Retinopathy (Peto, Stitt, Lois, Hogg, Curtis) and Glaucoma (Azuara-Blanco and Hogg), exploring interventions to delay or prevent onset. Cutting edge retinal imaging is crucial to these endeavours. Advanced retinal imaging has been at the forefront of research advances in ophthalmology; as resolution has increased, the capacity to understand disease mechanisms has advanced for all major blinding conditions. In the retina, this has advanced on two parallel fronts, firstly, improved imaging of individual retinal layers including the photoreceptor mosaic, and secondly, improved imaging of retinal vasculature and microvasculature and associated structures. At the forefront of this is the ultra-high resolution provided by adaptive optics techniques, enabling single cell resolution in vivo. To date, these various technologies are available at QUB to support clinical trials on separate instruments, necessitating long tiring visits for patients and challenges for researchers in co-registering the different imaging types to look at the same location simultaneously. In order to address some of the above issues, Queens University wishes to procure a compact, multi-modal and multi-scale retinal imaging system, with microscopic resolution capability that is able to overcome the above-mentioned issues, in combination with laser-based imaging to help with media opacities and provide confocality.The equipment will be installed at The Wellcome Trust-Wolfson Northern Ireland Clinical Research Facility (NICRF), a joint venture between Health and Social Care, Queens University, and the University of Ulster, located in Belfast City Hospital.