Objective
Prevalent eye diseases, such as glaucoma, keratoconus, refractive errors, cataract, myopia and presbyopia, affect millions
worldwide, and only in Europe represent over €20 billion annual cost to society. Current screening tools rely on
morphological biomarkers based on corneal shape and optics, yet differences in biomechanical properties underlie and
precede disease development (i.e. keratoconus, ectasia risk) or affect standard markers (i.e. intraocular pressure in
glaucoma). IMCUSTOMEYE will develop new diagnostic paradigms for these vision-threatening conditions, with a direct
impact on their treatment. We will deploy new compact, easy-to-use, label-free non-invasive imaging-based instrumentation
for direct measurement of corneal biomechanical properties in patients. The technology is based on imaging concepts
brought from other disciplines into ophthalmology and, for the first time, applied in patients in vivo. Dynamic corneal imaging
based on air-puff stimulated Optical Coherence Tomography corneal deformation and acoustic stimulated phase sensitive
and nanosensitive Optical Coherence Tomography corneal vibrography will be coupled to corneal mechanical models to
estimate corneal elasticity and viscoelasticity parameters (isolated from other factors). Corneal biomechanical properties will
be used as biomarkers for in-depth diagnosis of keratoconus and ectasia risk, and to provide accurate estimates of
intraocular pressure in glaucoma diagnosis. Clinical validations in ophthalmology hospitals will demonstrate the diagnostic and treatment predictive potential of the customised optical and biomechanical eye models from patient-specific enabled by
the new technology. IMCUSTOMEYE will contribute to more effective, customised treatment of eye diseases and to
reinforce industrial leadership in the area of diagnostic imaging in ophthalmology.
Fields of science
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineophthalmologyglaucoma
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinesurgery
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyplanetary sciencesplanetary geology
- medical and health sciencesmedical biotechnologyimplants
- engineering and technologymedical engineeringdiagnostic imaging
Programme(s)
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
IA - Innovation actionCoordinator
28006 Madrid
Spain