IMCUSTOMEYE · IMaging-based CUSTOMised EYE diagnostics

Prevalent eye diseases, such as glaucoma, keratoconus, refractive errors, cataract, myopia and presbyopia, affect millionsworldwide, and only in Europe represent over €20 billion annual cost to society. Current screening tools rely onmorphological biomarkers based on corneal shape and optics, yet differences in biomechanical properties underlie andprecede disease development (i.e. keratoconus, ectasia risk) or affect standard markers (i.e. intraocular pressure inglaucoma). IMCUSTOMEYE will develop new diagnostic paradigms for these vision-threatening conditions, with a directimpact on their treatment. We will deploy new compact, easy-to-use, label-free non-invasive imaging-based instrumentationfor direct measurement of corneal biomechanical properties in patients. The technology is based on imaging conceptsbrought from other disciplines into ophthalmology and, for the first time, applied in patients in vivo. Dynamic corneal imagingbased on air-puff stimulated Optical Coherence Tomography corneal deformation and acoustic stimulated phase sensitiveand nanosensitive Optical Coherence Tomography corneal vibrography will be coupled to corneal mechanical models toestimate corneal elasticity and viscoelasticity parameters (isolated from other factors). Corneal biomechanical properties willbe used as biomarkers for in-depth diagnosis of keratoconus and ectasia risk, and to provide accurate estimates ofintraocular pressure in glaucoma diagnosis. Clinical validations in ophthalmology hospitals will demonstrate the diagnostic and treatment predictive potential of the customised optical and biomechanical eye models from patient-specific enabled bythe new technology. IMCUSTOMEYE will contribute to more effective, customised treatment of eye diseases and toreinforce industrial leadership in the area of diagnostic imaging in ophthalmology.