Moxifloxacin-based extended depth-of-field (EDOF) wide-field microscopy with surface tracking for non-invasive examination of conjunctival goblet cells in awake human subjects

Abstract

Mucin secretive conjunctival goblet cells (CGCs) in the eye play important roles in ocular surface homeostasis by forming the mucous layer of the tear film. CGC information is also an important biomarker for diagnosis because CGC loss or dysfunction is observed in various ocular surface diseases. In this study, we developed moxifloxacin-based extended depth-of-field (EDOF) microscopy with surface tracking for non-invasive CGC imaging in awake human subjects. The system had a DOF of 0.8 mm, a field of view (FOV) of 1.3mm x 1.3mm, and imaging speed of 15 fps. The phase detection method was used for real-time surface tracking. Moxifloxacin ophthalmic solution was topically instilled for CGC labeling. Repeated large area imaging of the same conjunctiva in a human subject was demonstrated. MBFM might have the potential for non-invasive CGC examination in patients.