# Acquisition of a MICRON IV ocular imaging system

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE · 2022 · $187,350

## Abstract

Abstract
Blinding eye diseases cause significant increases in disability and decreases in quality of life for
Americans. Research into the mechanisms underlying these conditions and potential
treatments relies heavily on rodent models due to their similarities to the human eye and genetic
tractability. However, the small size of the rodent eye, and concomitant differences in optics
with the human eye, makes it near impossible use human clinical instruments to view ocular
pathology in rodents. This not only limits direct correlation between clinical observations in
living humans and disease processes observed in rodents, but the invasive nature of the
techniques also traditionally used to assay rodent eye pathology prevent most longitudinal
studies of rodent eye pathology. The Phoenix-Micron IV ocular imaging system has overcome
these challenges by engineering the optics of an instrument capable of methods used routinely
in human clinical eye care (fundus imaging, fluorescence angiography, optical coherence
tomography, and slit lamp) to match that of rodent eyes yielding assessments of rodent ocular
anatomy that are comparable to those seen in humans. Thus, acquisition of the Micron IV
imaging system by the University of Delaware and its placement in our multi-modal animal
imaging core facility will expand our ability to perform research on blinding eye diseases while
also supporting the ocular phenotyping of animal models created to study other debilitating
conditions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10584877
- **Project number:** 3U54GM104941-10S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE
- **Principal Investigator:** Gregory E Hicks
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $187,350
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2013-09-25 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10584877

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10584877, Acquisition of a MICRON IV ocular imaging system (3U54GM104941-10S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10584877. Licensed CC0.

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