2022

Where do research ideas come from?

Where do research ideas come from?  Do they arrive in a thunderbolt eureka moment, or do they start as an observation or hunch, requiring some time to simmer, brew, incubate and grow?  Some may evolve from an accidental or serendipitous discovery during a routine process. Observant operators of the Phoenix MICRON® retinal imaging system may

2022

Analysis of imaging, structure and function using Phoenix MICRON™ modalities expand the understanding of ocular features of Down Syndrome in mouse models

In their paper “Quantitative Analysis of Retinal Structure and Function in Two Chromosomally Altered Mouse Models of Down Syndrome”, researchers Victorino, Scott-McKean, et al leveraged the multi-modality capabilities of the Phoenix MICRON™ retinal imaging platform, to produce an image-rich research paper looking at the ocular features of Down Syndrome in two mouse models; Ts65Dn and

2020

A year-long longitudinal pattern dystrophy fundus study with the Phoenix MICRON® IV imaging platform

In their 2019 paper, “Novel molecular mechanisms for Prph2‐associated pattern dystrophy,” Chakraborty et al use the Phoenix MICRON® IV retinal imaging platform to longitudinally study the effect of a very specific mutation affecting the Peripherin 2 protein. Peripherin 2 is a protein in rods and cones which, if mutated, can lead to retinitis pigmentosa, cone-rod

2020

Caspase-9 inhibiting eyedrops rescue physiological and functional retinal vein occlusion damage shown with Phoenix MICRON®, OCT, and focal ERG

In a recent well written, compelling article published in Nature Communications, “Endothelial activation of caspase-9 promotes neurovascular injury in retinal vein occlusion,” Avrutsky et al show that caspase-9 inhibition is a promising treatment for retinal vein occlusion. Retinal vein occlusion models hypoxic-ischemic neurovascular damage and is the second leading cause of blindness in working-age adults.

2020

Measuring adeno-associated virus improvements with Phoenix MICRON® fluorescent imaging and Phoenix MICRON® Ganzfeld ERG

A team of researchers at the Indian Institutes of Technology have published three detailed articles examining how to improve adeno-associated viruses (AAV). Maurya, S, Mary, B, Jayandharan, GR et al -approach the improvement of the viruses in a stunningly detailed gene-to-cell-to-whole-mouse model, narrowing down a multitude of options and producing impressive fluorescent fundus images and

2019

Phoenix MICRON® FA reveals more leakage in iron-overload model of diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is a crippling complication of diabetes that can lead to loss of vision, characterized by retinal inflammation, neurodegeneration, and disorganized microvascularization . Oxidative stress is crucial to the development of diabetic retinopathy. Iron is an essential micronutrient but, in excess, can become a highly damaging oxidative species. Excessive iron has been implicated in Parkinson’s

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