Online Treatment of Subretinal Neovascular Membranes from Laser Eye Injury

Subretinal neovascular membranes (SRNM) are a deleterious complication of laser eye injury and retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, choroiditis, and myopic retinopathy. The membranes are difficult to treat with conventional photocoagulation because they form near the fovea directly below sensitive photoreceptors. Photodynamic therapy is a promising treatment that 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 School of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology propose to develop an on-line, automated PDT treatment system. The system will be built around core technologies of scanning laser ophthalmoscopy and retinal tracking. The system will include fluorescein and ICG angiography as well as precise delivery of a PDT laser beam. Instrument components and software algorithms will be developed in Phase I and in Phase II the system will be built and tested in human subject trials on patients with SRNM. After the Phase II program, the system will be delivered to the U.S. Army Medical Research Detachment at Brooks City Base TX.