Online Treatment of Subretinal Neovascular Membranes from Laser Eye Injury

Subretinal neovascular membranes are a deleterious complication of laser eye injury and retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), choroiditis, and myopic retinopathy. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs are approved treatment methods. PDT acts by selective dye accumulation, activation by laser light, and disruption and clotting of the new leaky vessels. However, PDT surgery is currently not image-guided, nor does it proceed in an efficient or automated manner. This may contribute to the high rate of re-treatment. Physical Sciences Inc. and Boston University Medical Center have successfully completed a Phase I STTR program to initiate the development of an on-line, automated, image-guided PDT treatment system. The system is built around core technologies of line scanning laser ophthalmoscopy and retinal tracking. In addition to those components, the compact multifunctional optical platform to be constructed in Phase II will include both fluorescein and ICG angiography as well as precise delivery of a PDT treatment laser beam. The system will be tested in a limited number of human subjects with AMD. At the end of the program the system will be delivered to the U.S. Army Medical Research Detachment at Brooks City Base San Antonio, TX.