Project Leader: Dr. hab. Ireneusz Grulkowski, Prof. UMK
The human eye is an extraordinarily complex optical system, composed of numerous structures and regions with diverse physical, optical, and biological properties. One of its key yet least understood components is the vitreous body—a gel-like substance filling the interior of the eye, which constitutes the largest volumetric part and is considered part of the posterior segment. Despite its crucial role in maintaining proper ocular architecture and in retinal physiology and pathology, its structure and functions remain insufficiently characterized. This is mainly due to its transparency and low light scattering, which significantly limit the applicability of traditional in vivo imaging methods. Current techniques, such as ultrasonography or biomicroscopy, offer limited spatial resolution and do not allow detailed visualization of the vitreous microstructure.
In the proposed research, we aim to address these challenges by developing and applying advanced imaging methods to improve understanding of the vitreous body’s physiology and pathology. We will focus primarily on high-resolution visualization and quantitative characterization of its morphological and functional features. A key tool in achieving these objectives will be optical coherence tomography (OCT), which we plan to further develop and adapt to the imaging of transparent and weakly scattering tissues.
The project is interdisciplinary and comprises several interrelated stages:
- Development of innovative methodology to increase the field of view, enabling simultaneous imaging of the entire posterior segment, including both the retina and the vitreous body.
- Optimization of scanning strategies for precise morphological mapping of the vitreous.
- Automation of the measurement process and significant reduction of data acquisition time.
- Demonstration of the ability to monitor dynamic changes in the vitreous and assess its rheological properties.
- Construction of a normative database presenting degenerative changes associated with aging, correlated with patients’ subjective sensory experiences.
- Comparison of optical, mechanical, and biochemical properties of the vitreous in patients undergoing vitrectomy under various clinical conditions.
This project represents a synergistic and integrated combination of expertise in ophthalmology, vision science, biomedical engineering, physics, computer science, and biochemistry. It encompasses both methodological development and the implementation of advanced algorithms for image segmentation and reconstruction, enabling precise quantitative analysis of acquired data. These efforts will be linked to clinical observations, psychophysical tests, and biochemical analyses.
Objective assessment of the vitreous body will allow a comprehensive understanding of aging processes, based on phenomena leading to vitreous degeneration from morphological, optical, and biochemical perspectives (biogerontology). By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration among clinicians, engineers, physicists, computer scientists, and biochemists, this research will contribute to the advancement of precision ophthalmic diagnostics.