Science & Clinical Research

1. Adaptive optics flood illumination ophthalmoscopy enables in-vivo, near-cellular resolution imaging of retinal structures in inherited retinal diseases
2. Multi-scale phenotyping reveals both cellular alterations, including irregular and hypo-reflective cones, and distinct topographic patterns across disease stages
3. AO-derived features show spatial correspondence with structural disruption on optical coherence tomography, including ellipsoid zone loss and outer nuclear layer thinning
4. Advanced degeneration observed in AO imaging is characterised by retinal pigment epithelium visibility, pigmentation abnormalities, and choroidal vessel visualisation
5. AO addresses a critical unmet need for sensitive biomarkers to detect early cellular damage and monitor disease progression

Adaptive optics flood illumination ophthalmoscopy (AO-FIO) enables non-invasive retinal imaging at nearcellular resolution, providing direct visualization of cone photoreceptors, retinal pigment epithelium, and vasculature beyond conventional imaging resolution such as Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) or Fundus Photography.

This presentation highlights the clinical integration of AO-FIO as a quantitative biomarker platform, illustrated through multi-scale phenotyping of inherited retinal diseases, namely retinitis pigmentosa. AOFIO reveals consistent cellular abnormalities, including dysmorphic cones and irregular cone mosaics corresponding to ellipsoid zone disruption and outer segment thinning on OCT. In advanced stages, the observation of RPE cell mosaics and choroidal vessel visibility indicate severe degeneration of the photoreceptor layer.

These findings demonstrate that AO-derived metrics provide sensitive, spatially resolved biomarkers capable of detecting disease progression over shorter time intervals, even when standard imaging appears stable. This enables more responsive