# Imaging Structure and Function of the Photoreceptor-RPE-Choriocapillaris Complex

> **NIH NIH R01** · TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $455,897

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Human vision starts when photoreceptors collect and respond to light. Photoreceptors do not function in
isolation though, but share close interdependence with neighboring photoreceptors, retinal pigment
epithelium (RPE) cells, and choriocapillaris (CC). These close interactions underlie normal function of
photoreceptors, but also the entire photoreceptor-RPE-CC complex, the primary site of most retinal
dystrophies including age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and inherited diseases such as retinitis
pigmentosa (RP). Techniques to assess this complex in vivo, however, are limited. New optical modalities that
are rapid, specific, and non-invasive hold the promise of greatly expanding our capability to monitor more
accurately and completely the photoreceptor-RPE-CC complex.
This study takes advantage of unique AO and OCT instrumentation developed in my laboratory for sampling
rapidly and reproducibly volume regions of the photoreceptor-RPE-CC complex at the cellular level. We will
use MHz AO-OCT in conjunction with sub-cellular 3D registration and phase techniques that we have
developed that are sensitive to optical length changes as small as 45 nm. We will use these techniques to
investigate three specific aims: (1) determine properties of photoreceptor disc shedding, (2) evaluate
disruption in the cellular surround of drusen, an early indicator of AMD, and (3) measure cell loss dynamics in
RP.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9979890
- **Project number:** 5R01EY018339-14
- **Recipient organization:** TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Donald T Miller
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $455,897
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2007-09-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9979890

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9979890, Imaging Structure and Function of the Photoreceptor-RPE-Choriocapillaris Complex (5R01EY018339-14). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9979890. Licensed CC0.

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