Research Category:

FY: 2005 Funding (in dollars): $300,000

Responsible Organization: AIR FORCE RESEARCH LAB/BROOKS
Primary Contact: US Army Medical Research Detachment of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
City: Brooks City-Base
State: TX
Zip: 78235-5116

Keywords: LABORATORY ANIMALS LASER MULTIFOCAL ELECTRORETINOGRAM OCULAR EYE RETINA VISUAL ACUITY CONTRAST SENSITIVITY

Objective: An objective of this research is to determine the sensitivity to retinal injury of retinal electrophysiologic testing with the multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG). Another objective is to determine the sensitivity of behavioral testing to the same retinal injuries.

Approach: The increased use of lasers by the military has been accompanied by the need to diagnose and evaluate laser retinal injuries earlier and more completely. Research was conducted to evaluate the potential of the mfERG and behavioral testing to meet these objectives. Six rhesus monkeys underwent testing before having each eye treated with a 532 nm laser. Laser exposures included one small foveal exposure to the non-dominant eye and six perimacular exposures to the dominant eye. After laser exposure, the animals underwent four mfERG sessions; photos were taken during each of these sessions. The animals also completed numerous post-exposure behavioral test sessions.    
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Research was conducted in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act and other Federal statutes and regulations relating to the use of animals in research and was reviewed and approved by the Institute's Animal Care and Use Committee.