A system for functional imaging of the ocular fundus

Neurovascular coupling in the optic nerve is the physiological mechanism that adjusts the blood perfusion in the microcirculation of the optic nerve to support the neural activity induced by vision. The resulting variations in blood flow and thus in neural tissue oxygenation induce changes in the optical properties of the tissues. These variations can be detected optically as reflectivity changes in the neural tissues, i.e. the retina and optic nerve disk. To achieve a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the neurovascular coupling, our study is aimed at the evaluation of reflectance changes of the optic nerve induced by visual stimulation. For this purpose, an ocular fundus reflectometer has been developed.