To achieve this goal, an inter- and multidisciplinary approach was employed, involving the synergy between biologists and ophthalmologists at the host institution, the Institut de la Vision, and adjacent Quinze-Vingts National Eye Hospital, and physicists (including the researcher) at the partner organization, the Institut Langevin (including pioneers of the core technologies being translated into ophthalmology), as well as at the Laboratory of Biosciences.
Several advanced concepts and novel imaging modalities tailored to the needs of quantitative cornea assessment were developed and validated, all enabling ease of use (Quantitative Slit-lamp Biomicroscopy, Q-SB, and Optical Coherence Tomography, Q-OCT), high resolution (Full-Field Optical Coherence Tomography, FF-OCT, with multi-wavelength capabilities), and deep light-penetration (Multi-Illumination Matrix FF-OCT). Notably, a novel optical data-analysis method based on a physical model of corneal transparency emerged that may be applied to any existing depth-resolved corneal imaging modality routinely used in ophthalmology (including standard digital SB and spectral-domain OCT) and eye-bank practice, and enables, for the first time, standardized characterization, including monitoring capability, of corneal transparency. We are currently in the process of implementing this method into the clinical protocol at the Quinze-Vingts National Eye Hospital, and we also established a new collaboration with the French Eye Bank (“Banque Francaise des Yeux” or BFY) for its implementation into and improvement of current procedures for graft (i.e. donated tissue taken from a recently deceased individual) quality control before corneal transplantation.
