Project: To assess the ability of a new laser imaging system to diagnose glaucoma

Location: UCSD Shiley Eye Center, San Diego, CA

Advisors: Linda Zangwill, Ph.D., an accomplished epidemiologist with expertise in ophthalmology research; Robert Weinreb, M.D., a distinguished ophthalmologist and director of the Shiley Eye Center

Project Description | HRT | Glaucoma

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Project Overview

A patient's eye is scanned with a confocal scanning laser called the Heidelberg Retina Tomograph (HRT) and an image of the retina is produced.

The image is three-dimensional and looks like the picture above.  The first picture taken is called the baseline image.

A year after the baseline image is taken, our technicians obtain another image of the retina.  The new image is compared to the baseline image using analysis software which marks areas of significant change as red or green.

Red = decrease in nerve layer thickness
Green = increase in nerve layer thickness

The two questions I want to answer are:

1. Do the red areas of change correspond to glaucomatous nerve damage?
    

2. Can we use the laser images to diagnose glaucoma earlier than the current diagnostic methods, i.e. visual field exams ?

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