This research is aimed at the development of an automated system for corneal endothelial cell counting and morphology analysis. This system will be useful for both researcher and clinicians. The incorporation of direct high-resolution acquisition of endothelial cell images, which allows analysis of cell morphology at the time of acquisition, will have a significant impact on clinical uses. These automated techniques for rapid quantitative analysis of corneal endothelial cell morphology derived from specular microscope images would have a significant imDact on evaluating the endothelium pre and post surgery, including intraocular lens implantation and phacoemulsification. Techniques for temporal image registration, based on cell pattern recognition, for patient follow-up will be included and will greatly expand the potential market. In Phase I, a prototype system for automated endothelial cell counting and morphology analysis will be developed. This system will be based on image enhancement and morphological techniques for automated endothelial cell discrimination, segmentation and measurement. The potential for direct high-resolution acquisition of endothelial cell images will also be investigated.Awardee's statement of the potential commercial applications of the research:An automated system for the direct acquisition and rapid analysis of corneal endothelial cell morphology would be beneficial to clinical research as well as ophthalmologic practice because it allows immediate analysis on-site during the patient visit.National Eye Institute (NEI)
