Recent Media Coverage

Adaptive Optics & Wavefront Technology (Listen to the complete interview in mp3 format. 10.5 MB.)

From an interview on Sound Medicine June 12, 2004
Hosts: Barbara Lewis, Kathy Miller, MD
Interview: Larry Thibos, PhD, Professor of optometry, IU School of Optometry
Clark Springs, MD, Assistant Professor of clinical ophthalmology, IU School of Medicine

A technology called adaptive optics allows astronomers to see distant stars with the ground-based Keck Telescopes in Hawaii almost as well as with the Hubble Space Telescope. The computerized system eliminates the distorting effects of Earth's turbulent atmosphere when astronomers view objects in space with the Keck Telescopes. It continually measures for optical flaws and then automatically corrects them.
This technology is now being applied in medicine by visual researchers and ophthalmologists. It allows for a clearer examination of the eye's retina, which can lead to earlier and more precise diagnoses. It also has improved the popular LASIK laser surgery by producing a three-dimensional map of the eye’s visual system. As a result, ophthalmologists can customize LASIK surgery for each patient.

Interferometry gives eye camera a new lease of life

From Opto & Laser Europe May 2003

A retina camera that combines adaptive optics with optical coherence tomography is generating images of retinal cells with unprecedented resolution.

Ever since German physiologist Hermann von Helmholtz first observed the inside of the human eye with his ophthalmoscope, physicians have striven to obtain better images of the retina and unlock its secrets.
Now a US expert in retinal imaging is pushing ophthalmoscope technology to its limits to try to achieve that goal. Donald Miller - who carried out much of his initial research at the University of Rochester, US, but now heads his own group at the University of Indiana - has developed a highly sensitive camera that can generate image slices of the retina to a lateral and depth resolution of just a few micrometres (2 and 4 µm respectively). At the recent Photonics West conference in San Jose, US, Miller presented the first results of his work.

Major technical advance in astronomy improves diagnosis of eye diseases
By Indiana University Office of Communications and Marketing

(See Movie)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A major technical advance in astronomy is making it possible for scientists to see individual living cells of the human retina clearly for the first time. This will greatly improve doctors' ability to diagnose diseases of the retina such as glaucoma at an early stage, when intervention and treatment can prevent blindness.

A technology called adaptive optics allows astronomers to see distant stars with the ground-based Keck Telescopes in Hawaii almost as well as with the Hubble Space Telescope.

In Astronomy Eyes - IU scientists adapting astronomy tool for eye exams
By Rick Callahan
Attributed to The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Technology that gives Earth-bound astronomers a crystal-clear view of stars by compensating for atmospheric turbulence is now peering into the human eye to look for early signs of disease.

Two Indiana University researchers are playing key roles in the effort to adapt this astronomical tool for an entirely different device to produce the clearest views yet of individual cells in the retina.

The eventual goal is an affordable, user-friendly instrument for spotting signs of diseases such as glaucoma early enough that they can be treated to prevent blindness.

Seeing through a new lens - Two IU professors create adaptive optics technology in lab
By Sarah Webb
Attributed to the Indiana Daily Student
February 5, 2003

The old saying "seeing is believing" holds true for much of scientific research. As visual beings, the better we can see something, the better chance that we have of understanding how it works and how to fix it when it's broken.

When researchers apply technology that astronomers use to filter out atmospheric distortions to seeing individual cells in the back of the human eye, seeing is not only believing, but it may lead to better vision.

Donald Miller and Larry Thibos, professors in the IU School of Optometry, are working on this application of adaptive optics technology to get more accurate pictures of the human eye. Their combined instrumentation, one of only five systems of its kind in the world, currently allows them to see the human retina at a resolution of a few microns, one-hundredth of the size of a pencil lead.

Galactic technology may fight blindness
Attributed to The Daily Telegraph, Australia
January 28, 2003

LONDON: Technology used by astronomers to get a clear view of distant galaxies has been modified to spot damaged cells in the eye.

The sophisticated adaptive optics system compensates for the distorting effect of the atmosphere by continually measuring optical flaws and correcting them.

It allows astronomers at the Keck telescope in Hawaii to see distant objects as clearly as the Hubble space telescope.

Two scientists at the Indiana University School of Optometry are now applying the technology to the problem of viewing cells in the retina and optic nerve at the back of the eye.

Getting a Closer Look at the Eye
By Kristen Philipkoski
Attributed to Wired.com
January 23, 2003

Eye diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration often aren't discovered until a patient is well on his way to blindness. But a new imaging technology promises to deliver diagnoses at critical early stages.

The technology, called adaptive optics, was originally developed for peering into outer space. It made headlines most recently for giving astronomers rare views of Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

However, researchers studying the human eye are discovering the technology has applications in their field as well.

Adaptive optics may help opticians
By Belle Dumé
Attributed to Physicsweb.org
January 22, 2003

Scientists have used a technique normally used in astronomy to see living cells in the human retina for the first time. Donald Miller and Larry Thibos of Indiana University believe that instruments that use "adaptive optics" could help in the early diagnosis of retinal diseases (Donald Miller and Larry Thibos Indiana University press release)

Astronomers developed adaptive optics to overcome the blurring in their images caused by turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere. In adaptive optics, atmospheric distortions in the light from a "reference beacon" are analysed by a sensor, which then sends electronic signals to a "deformable" mirror that changes its shape to correct for the distortions. The mirror's shape can change several hundred times a second, which ultimately results in a sharper image of the object observed.