![[Translate to English:] PProject logo and a stylised eye from which a section is enlarged until the blood vessels can be seen.](fileadmin/mc/health_environment/images/News/Cohesion_NewsBild.jpg)
As a result of the FFG project COHESION, coordinated by ams AG and running from 2016 to 2019, it has been possible for the first time to record 3D images of the retina in a living person using an extremely compact integrated spectrometer. The AIT Competence Unit Molecular Diagnostics, of the Center for Health & Bioresources, was a partner in the all-Austrian consortium and contributed its many years of interdisciplinary experience in the sensor field.
As a result of the FFG project COHESION, it was possible for the first time to record images of the retina of a living human being with a chip-integrated spectrometer. At the Medical University of Vienna, the recording was carried out using optical coherence tomography (OCT). OCT is an optical imaging technique for non-contact, depth-resolved visualisation of the retina of the eye, the foundations of which were laid at the Medical University of Vienna in the early 1990s. Today, OCT is the gold standard for ophthalmological examinations and has the advantage over other methods of visualising blood vessels without the administration of contrast agents.
The aim of the FFG project COHESION, which ran from 2016 to 2019, was to take a significant step towards miniaturisation in OCT. After years of international efforts, an all-Austrian consortium around the coordinator ams AG succeeded - with an image quality that could be sufficient for clinical use. The AIT Competence Unit Molecular Diagnostics, of the Center for Health & Bioresources, was a partner and contributed its many years of interdisciplinary experience in the sensor field.
AIT sensor expert Paul Müllner says: "These results represent a milestone for the development of low-cost, miniaturised OCT devices, which could have a significant impact on near-patient diagnostics in the field of ophthalmology." Müllner further explains "The project was able to integrate the most important core component of an OCT device on just one semiconductor chip and easily integrate it into existing manufacturing processes in the semiconductor industry to enable low-cost mass production." The next goal is to develop a very compact yet affordable and robust OCT device that opens up a wide range of new diagnostic possibilities.
In addition to the technical part, the overall design of the photonic integrated circuit with OCT functionality and the waveguide components, the task of the interdisciplinary team of experts from the AIT was above all to build a bridge between the project coordinator ams AG, with expertise in the manufacture of chips, and the experts from the MUW, with expertise in ophthalmic OCT applications, but so far without knowledge of semiconductor processes or waveguides. The Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences, responsible for the integrated spectrometer, was also part of the consortium.
Initiator of the COHESION project Rainer Hainberger, head of the biosensor group of Molecular Diagnostics, explains how the project will continue: "In the next step, the integration will be strongly advanced. The goal is to also demonstrate the detection as well as the integration of further core components of an OCT device on the 2x2 cm chip. Corresponding chips have already been manufactured and the first measurements are currently being prepared at the Medical University of Vienna." This means that an OCT device the size of a shoebox could eventually be realised, which would enable cost-efficient, patient-oriented OCT examinations, e.g. also in nursing homes.
How does OCT actually work?
In this examination, a laser beam scans the retina and reconstructs the reflected light in a 3D image. This allows the doctor to examine the layers of the retina, some of which are only a few micrometres thick, for diseases. In this way, early signs of retinal diseases, e.g. age-related macular degeneration and retinal detachments, or damage to the optic nerve can be detected and treated. The microvasculature of the retina can also be visualised with depth resolution, and current studies indicate that in future it will also be possible to find indications of heart failure, diabetes and possibly Alzheimer's disease at an early stage. The principle works in such a way that static areas are blanked out and moving signals, such as flowing blood, are detected and thus the vessels can be mapped.