Retina

The retina is a thin layer of cells at the back of the eyeball of vertebrates and some cephalopods; it is the part of the eye which converts light into nervous signals.

Diagnosis and treatment

An ophthalmoscope is used to examine the retina. Recently, adaptive optics have been used to image individual rods and cones in the living human retina.

Related Topics:
Ophthalmoscope - Adaptive optics

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The electroretinogram is used to measure non-invasively the retina's electrical activity, which is affected by certain diseases. A relatively new technology, which is recently becoming widespreadly available is optical coherence tomography (OCT). This non-invasive technique allows to obtain a 3D volumetric or high resolution cross-sectional tomogram of the retinal fine structure with histologic-quality.

Related Topics:
Electroretinogram - Non-invasively - Optical coherence tomography - 3D - Tomogram - Histologic

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Transplantation of retinas has been attempted, but without much success.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At MIT and the University of New South Wales, an "artificial retina" is under development: an implant which will bypass the photoreceptors of the retina and stimulate the attached nerve cells directly, with signals from a digital camera.

Related Topics:
MIT - University of New South Wales

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~