Non-Invasive High-Resolution Imaging of In Vivo Human Myelinated Axons

TL;DR

This study uses a new imaging technique to visualize myelinated nerve fibers in the human eye with high resolution, offering insights into nerve anatomy and disease.

Contribution

The first non-invasive in vivo imaging of human myelinated axons at microscopic resolution using transscleral optical phase imaging with adaptive optics.

Findings

Human myelinated retinal nerve fibers were imaged in vivo at 2–3 micrometer resolution.

The method provided better detail than traditional ocular imaging techniques like optical coherence tomography.

The microscopic appearance of human myelin and myelinated axons was documented for the first time.

Abstract

This work aims to reveal the microscopic (2–3 micrometer resolution) appearance of human myelinated nerve fibers in vivo for the first time. We analyzed the myelinated retinal nerve fibers of a male patient without other neurological disorders in a non-invasive way using the transscleral optical phase imaging method with adaptive optics. We also analyzed the fellow eye with non-myelinated nerve fibers and compared the results with traditional ocular imaging methods such as optical coherence tomography. We documented the microscopic appearance of human myelin and myelinated axons in vivo. This method allowed us to obtain better details than through traditional ocular imaging methods. We hope these findings will be useful to the scientific community to evaluate neuro-retinal structures through new imaging techniques and more accurately document nerve anatomy and the pathophysiology of this disease.

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