AN IMPROVED QLS INSTRUMENT TO MONITOR EARLY CATARACT

QUASI-ELASTIC LIGHT SCATTERING (QLS) HAS BEEN USED TO NONINVASIVELY DETECT AND QUANTIFY THE MOLECULAR CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH THE EARLY STAGES OF CATARACT FORMATION IN THE LIVING HUMAN LENS. IT IS PROPOSED TO DEVELOP A COMMERCIAL QLS INSTRUMENT. TO ESTABLISH FEASIBILITY, SPECIFIC IMPROVEMENTS WILL BE MADE TO AN EXISTING PROTOTYPE. THE IMPROVEMENTS INCLUDE: (1) BETTER MEASUREMENTLOCALIZATION ACCURACY, (2) REDUCED MEASUREMENT TIME, (3) UTILIZATION OF A CALIBRATION STANDARD, (4) EASY-TO-INTERPRETMEASUREMENT RESULTS BASED ON A UNIVERSAL LINEAR CATARACT-GRADING SCALE, AND (5) USE OF A SIMPLER AND LESS EXPENSIVE SIGNAL PROCESSOR. MANY COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS EXIST FOR AN INSTRUMENT THAT PROVIDES A RELIABLE, NONINVASIVE MEASUREMENT OF EARLY CATARACTOGENESIS IN VIVO. TO PROVIDE SUCH A MEASUREMENT CAPABILITY HAS LONG BEEN AN IMPORTANT GOAL IN HUMAN CLINICALCATARACT RESEARCH. SUCH AN INSTRUMENT IS NEEDED FOR THE FOLLOWING PURPOSES: (1) TO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PUTATIVE ANTICATARACT REAGENTS, (2) TO EVALUATE THE CATARACTOGENIC ROLE OF PHARMACOLOGIC AGENTS OR RADIATION USED IN THE TREATMENT OF SYSTEMIC DISEASE, (3) TO CHARACTERIZE THE EARLY CATARACT IN EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES OF POPULATIONS SUBJECT TO DIFFERENTIAL CATARACTOGENIC STRESS, AND (4) TO PROVIDE A QUANTITATIVE BASIS FOR THE DECISION TO INITIATE SURGICAL OR MEDICAL TREATMENT OF A CATARACT.