School of Medicine

Department of Ophthalmology

Current Research

Diabetic Retinopathy

Retinal blood flow and oxygenation is being studied by Dr. Bahram Khoobehi. The development of a non-invasive means of measuring oxygen saturation in the human eye would be useful in the diagnosis and monitoring of numerous disorders, including diabetic retinopathy, arterial venous occlusion disease, and glaucoma. In these studies, a practical system to evaluate oxygen saturation in the retina and optic nerve head using a recent innovation, hyperspectral imaging, is being developed. There is great potential for clinical application of this innovative technology in the early diagnosis of and monitoring of therapy for ocular vascular diseases which can eventually lead to loss of vision. Dr. Khoobehi's research involving retinal blood flow utilizes imaging of fluorescing blood cells to measure the velocity and volume of blood flow in the vessels of the retina. Information gained by this method can also aid in the diagnosis and monitoring of blinding eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy.