The instrument developed by scientists at University of Michigan through its non-invasive technique clicks specialized photographs of the eye capturing the metabolic stress and tissue damage that occurs even before the first symptoms of diabetes become evident.
The new device offers potentially significant advantages over blood glucose testing - the standard method for diabetes detection.
Taking an average time of about five minutes to test both eyes, the technology measures a phenomenon called flavoprotein autofluorescence (FA) – a reliable indicator of eye trouble.
Explaining the basis of the study lead researcher Dr. Victor M. Elner, a professor at the University's Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, said, “The concept behind measuring FA in the retina is to determine whether there's a metabolic dysfunction in the retinal tissue.”
For the study, the researchers recorded FA levels in 21 individuals with diabetes and compared the results with data from age-matched people who did not have the disease
Regardless of severity, the FA activity was significantly higher among subjects with diabetes, compared to those who did not have the disease.
For the 12 patients whose one eye was already known to be affected with diabetic retinopathy - a disease in which blood vessels in the eye are damaged – the FA activity significantly higher.
“Increased FA activity is the earliest indicator (that) cell death has occurred and tissue is beginning to break down,” said Howard Petty, a biophysicist and co-researcher of the study.
Tracking the difference in the FA activity might make it possible to track the severity of diabetes, researchers hope.
The results of the study feature in the latest issue of the Journal of Ophthalmology.
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