# Investigating nanoscale neuronal damages in early glaucoma towards clinical optical detection

> **NIH NIH R01** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $516,102

## Abstract

Project Summary
Our long-term goal is to develop new functional extensions of optical coherence tomography (vis-OCT) for
clinical diagnosis and management of glaucoma. Glaucoma is characterized by a progressive loss of retinal
ganglion cells (RGCs) and optic nerve defects and atrophy, afflicting more than 60 million people worldwide. It is
often develops slowly with symptoms and damage that are not noticed at early stage. Caring for those with
glaucomatous vision disability poses a huge burden on the US health care system. Early detection and
screening techniques at asymptomatic stage is thus of critical importance for better management of the disease
and will have paramount clinical and economic impacts. In this proposal, the power of the ultrahigh axial
resolution (~1 µm) will be harnessed and the increased optical contrast sensitivity offered by visible-light OCT
(vis-OCT) to investigate the mechanism of optically detectable alterations underlying early retinal ganglion cell
(RGC) damage in mouse models of experimental glaucoma. The proposed study will serve as the foundation for
objective and sensitive early clinical diagnosis of glaucoma using OCT. First, the investigators will establish
vis-OCT methodology to detect RGC and axon damage using an acute mouse model of nerve crush injury.
Then, the investigators will determine physiological origin of vis-OCT detected RGC ultrastructural alterations in
a chronic model of experimental glaucoma. Finally, the investigators will determine that vis-OCT detected RGC
ultrastructural alterations proceeds the structural and functional metrics used for clinical glaucoma diagnoses in
a chronic model of experimental glaucoma.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9952379
- **Project number:** 5R01EY029121-03
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Xiaorong Liu
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $516,102
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-06-01 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9952379

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9952379, Investigating nanoscale neuronal damages in early glaucoma towards clinical optical detection (5R01EY029121-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9952379. Licensed CC0.

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