{"id":2983,"date":"2015-07-18T19:20:01","date_gmt":"2015-07-18T23:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/achievement\/funded-projects\/the-eye-a-window-to-the-brain-detection-of-alzheimers-disease-in-the-prodromal-stage-from-non-invasive-hyperspectral-retinal-images\/"},"modified":"2024-09-03T08:57:29","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T12:57:29","slug":"the-eye-a-window-to-the-brain-detection-of-alzheimers-disease-in-the-prodromal-stage-from-non-invasive-hyperspectral-retinal-images","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/achievement\/funded-projects\/the-eye-a-window-to-the-brain-detection-of-alzheimers-disease-in-the-prodromal-stage-from-non-invasive-hyperspectral-retinal-images\/","title":{"rendered":"The eye: a window to the brain \u2013 Detection of Alzheimer\u2019s Disease in the Prodromal Stage from Non-Invasive Hyperspectral Retinal Images"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Challenge:<\/strong> Alzheimer\u2019s disease (AD) affects millions of people worldwide, causing an irreversible and debilitating loss of neuro-cognitive functions, with no cure currently available. At the moment, AD diagnosis can be confirmed post-mortem or through complex in vivo imaging approaches (Positron Emission Tomography or PET scanner) by observing two AD hallmarks in the brain, the deposition of \u03b2-amyloid (A\u03b2) plaques and tau strands in the affected tissue. The early diagnosis of AD may help to dramatically increase the efficiency of clinical trials for testing new treatments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solution:<\/strong> The presence of A\u03b2 plaques reported in the retina of AD patients opened the possibility of detecting this AD marker through a simple, non-invasive eye scan. Through a collaboration with Optina Diagnostics, the project aimed to explore this avenue by investigating the potential of fluorescence (and reflectance) optical imaging of A\u03b2 plaques in the retina as a biomarker of AD. The method was developed using Optina\u2019s innovative Metabolic Hyperspectral Retinal Camera (MHRC), and validated against\u00a0brain A\u03b2 plaques imaging with amyloid-binding PET tracers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Achievements\/Impact:<\/strong>\u00a0The project led to the development of a new version of Optina Diagnostics\u2019 MHRC permitting spectrally-resolved retinal imaging in reflectance and fluorescence imaging modes. A preliminary classifier (identified as the Cerebral Amyloid Predictor Retina Scan \u2013 CAPRS), based on a machine learning algorithm, was also developed to determine the likely amyloid PET status (negative or positive) from MHRC images. Non-invasive and more affordable than PET scan, Optina\u2019s technology will strongly impact the AD drug discovery process. Additionally, the MHRC technology will be amenable to detect the spectral signature of specific biomarkers for diseases having manifestations in the human retina in vivo. The development of the classification algorithm will continue with the support from two grants and private funds from Optina Diagnostics. Optina Diagnostics is fully engaged in the commercialization of the CAPRS software to predict the cerebral amyloid PET status and the company has received breakthrough device designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its retinal imaging platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Principal Investigator:<\/strong>
Jean-Paul Soucy
<\/strong><\/strong>McGill University<\/td><\/tr>
Co-investigators<\/strong>
Pedro Rosa-Neto<\/strong>
McGill University
Frederic Lesage<\/strong>
Polytechnique Montreal
Sandra Black<\/strong>
Sunnybrook Research Institute
Jean-Philippe Sylvestre<\/strong>
Optina Diagnostics<\/td><\/tr>
Completed <\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>Project<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
$1,500,000 \/ 3 years<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Supported by CQDM through:<\/strong>
– Merck
– Pfizer
– MESI
– BL-NCE<\/td><\/tr>
And by co-funding partners:<\/strong>
– Brain Canada Foundation
– Ontario Brain Institute<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":3827,"template":"","project-category":[98],"class_list":["post-2983","project","type-project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","project-category-diagnostic-and-biomarkers"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project\/2983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/project"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"project-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project-category?post=2983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}