Исследование аутофлюоресценции глазного дна с помощью конфокального сканирующего лазерного офтальмоскопа

One of the important roles of retinal pigment epithelium is to digest, by lysosomal action, the tips of photoreceptors outer segments. The material that cannot be degraded (and thus accumulates) is lipofuscin. Lipofuscin in the retinal pigment epithelial cells is the major source of fundus autofluorescence. Lipofuscin exhibits a characteristic autofluorescence when excited in ultraviolet or blue light. The fundus autofluorescence signal can be recorded using confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy. By now, Heidelberg Retina Angiograph is the only commercially available confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope. Fundus autofluorescence imaging is a fast non-invasive method of observing retinal pigment epithelium in vivo through the ageing process and in pathology.