Defining Retinal Structures Using Hyperspectral Retinal Imaging

Defining Retinal Structures Using Hyperspectral Retinal Imaging

This study evaluates hyperspectral retinal imaging as a novel, non-invasive imaging technique to characterise retinal and optic nerve structures in healthy individuals and patients with eye disease. Hyperspectral imaging captures retinal data across multiple wavelengths to generate detailed spectral information that may reveal features not visible with conventional retinal photography.

Approximately 1000 participants will undergo multi-modal ophthalmic imaging in Melbourne, Australia, including hyperspectral imaging, OCT, fundus photography, and related tests. The study aims to compare hyperspectral imaging with standard imaging methods and assess its ability to identify retinal biomarkers associated with diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration.

This is a investigator-initiated imaging study assessing hyperspectral retinal imaging (HSI) for characterising retinal and optic nerve structures in healthy and diseased eyes.

HSI acquires retinal images across multiple wavelengths (>25 bands), producing a spectral "hypercube" containing spatial and spectral information for each pixel. This provides more detailed tissue information than conventional colour fundus photography.

Approximately 1000 participants will be recruited from ophthalmology clinics in Melbourne. All participants will undergo standard ophthalmic assessment and hyperspectral retinal imaging using the Optina device and a CERA prototype camera.

Hyperspectral images will be processed with registration and spectral normalisation to extract pixel-level reflectance signatures. These data will be analysed using statistical and machine learning methods and compared with established imaging biomarkers to evaluate their ability to distinguish disease states.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adults aged 18 years and older
• Able to provide informed consent
• Willing and able to attend a study visit at the Centre for Eye Research Australia
• Participants with diagnosed retinal or optic nerve disease (e.g., diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration)
• Age- and sex-matched healthy control participants without known retinal or optic nerve disease

Exclusion Criteria:

• Inability to provide informed consent
• Ocular conditions preventing adequate retinal imaging (e.g., dense cataract, severe corneal opacity, vitreous haemorrhage)
• Known contraindication to pharmacological pupil dilation
• History of narrow anterior chamber angle or risk of angle closure glaucoma where dilation is considered unsafe
• Any condition that, in the investigator's opinion, would compromise participant safety or image quality