Project final report
The H2020 MERLIN project is now closed.
A summary of the achievements of the MERLIN consortium during the total project period is available on the European Comission “CORDIS” platform.
Scientific publications
The MERLIN consortium has published a joint-article in Scientific Reports (open access). The article describes the novel retinal imaging device developed in the project, its architecture and imaging capabilities. It includes images obtained on healthy and diseased eyes.
- Shirazi, M. F., Andilla, J., Lefaudeux, N., Valdes, C., Schwarzhans, F., Durand, M., Ntatsis, K., De Jesus, D. A., Sanchez Brea, L., Gocho, K., Gautier, J., Eckmann-Hansen, C., Torm, M. E. W., Amini, A., Klein, S., Van Walsum, T., Grieve, K., Paques, M., Larsen, M., … Pircher, M. (2022).
Multi-modal and multi-scale clinical retinal imaging system with pupil and retinal tracking.
Scientific Reports, 12(1), 9577. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-13631-1Abstract: We present a compact multi-modal and multi-scale retinal imaging instrument with an angiographic functional extension for clinical use. The system integrates scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (SLO), optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA) imaging modalities and provides multi-scale fields of view. For high resolution, and high lateral resolution in particular, cellular imaging correction of aberrations by adaptive optics (AO) is employed. The entire instrument has a compact design and the scanning head is mounted on motorized translation stages that enable 3D self-alignment with respect to the subject’s eye by tracking the pupil position. Retinal tracking, based on the information provided by SLO, is incorporated in the instrument to compensate for retinal motion during OCT imaging. The imaging capabilities of the multi-modal and multi-scale instrument were tested by imaging healthy volunteers and patients.
The MERLIN partners have published other project results in the papers listed below.
- Bakker, E., Dikland, F. A., van Bakel, R., Andrade De Jesus, D., Sánchez Brea, L., Klein, S., … Paques, M. (2021)
Adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy: a systematic review of vascular biomarkers.
Survey of Ophthalmology 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.survophthal.2021.05.012 - Paulo, A., Vaz, P. G., Andrade De Jesus, D., Sánchez Brea, L., van Eijgen, J., Cardoso, J., … Barbosa Breda, J. (2021).
Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging of the Lamina Cribrosa: Structural Biomarkers in Nonglaucomatous Diseases.
Journal of Ophthalmology 2021. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/8844614 - Shirazi, M. F., Brunner, E., Laslandes, M., Pollreisz, A., Hitzenberger, C. K., & Pircher, M. (2020).
Visualizing human photoreceptor and retinal pigment epithelium cell mosaics in a single volume scan over an extended field of view with adaptive optics optical coherence tomography.
Biomedical Optics Express, 11(8), 4520–4535. https://doi.org/10.1364/BOE.393906 - Sánchez Brea, L., Andrade De Jesus, D., Shirazi, M. F., Pircher, M., van Walsum, T., & Klein, S. (2019).
Review on Retrospective Procedures to Correct Retinal Motion Artefacts in OCT Imaging.
Applied Sciences, 9(13), 2700-2727. https://doi.org/10.3390/app9132700 - Salas, M., Augustin, M., Felberer, F., Wartak, A., Laslandes, M., Ginner, L., … Pircher, M. (2018).
Compact akinetic swept source optical coherence tomography angiography at 1060 nm supporting a wide field of view and adaptive optics imaging modes of the posterior eye.
Biomedical Optics Express, 9(4), 1871-1892. https://doi.org/10.1364/BOE.9.001871
The following studies were supported, in part, by Horizon 2020 grant agreement no. 780989 (MERLIN).
- Belmouhand, M., Eckmann-Hansen, C., Ilginis, T., Leinoe, E. B., Mortensen, B. K., & Larsen, M. (2021)
Iron Overload and Iron Chelating Agent Exposure in Anemia-Associated Outer Retinal Degeneration: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.
BMC Ophthalmology 21, 277. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12886-021-02030-1 - Eliesersdottir, T. H., Holm, E., Eckmann-Hansen, C., Torm, M. E. W., Belmouhand, M., & Larsen, M. (2021).
Peripheral bright streaks in tuberous sclerosis.
American Journal of Ophthalmology Case Reports 22, 101050. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajoc.2021.101050 - Torm, M. E. W., Eckmann-Hansen, C., Christensen, S. K., & Larsen, M. (2020).
A unilateral foveal vitelliform lesion in a choroideremia carrier.
Retinal Cases and Brief Reports, Publish Ahead of Print. https://doi.org/10.1097/icb.0000000000001062 - Torm, M. E. W., Belmouhand, M., Munch, I. C., Larsen, M. & Rothenbuehler, S. P. (2020).
Migration of an outer retinal element in a healthy child followed by longitudinal multimodal imaging.
American Journal of Ophthalmology Case Reports, 18, 100637. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajoc.2020.100637 - Andrade De Jesus, D., Sánchez Brea, L., Barbosa Breda, J., Fokkinga, E., Ederveen, V., Borren, N., … van Walsum, T. (2020).
OCTA Multilayer and Multisector Peripapillary Microvascular Modeling for Diagnosing and Staging of Glaucoma.
IOVS Translational Vision Science & Technology, 9, 58. https://doi.org/10.1167/tvst.9.2.58 - Bekkers, A., Borren, N., Ederveen, V., Fokkinga, E., Andrade De Jesus, D., Sánchez Brea, L., … Stalmans, I. (2020)
Microvascular damage assessed by optical coherence tomography angiography for glaucoma diagnosis: a systematic review of the most discriminative regions.
Acta Ophthalmologica. doi:10.1111/aos.14392 - Laigaard, P. P., Larsen, M., Hansen, M., Jeppesen, J., Olsen, E. M., Skovgaard, A. M., & Munch, I. C. (2020).
Retinal arteriolar wall-to-lumen ratios at 16–17 years in the Copenhagen Child Cohort 2000 Study.
Journal of Hypertension, 38 (4), 731-736. https://doi.org/10.1097/HJH.0000000000002329 - Biyik, K. Z., Tideman, J.W., Polling, J.R., Buitendijk, G., Jaddoe, V., Larsen, M., & Klaver, C. (2019).
Subfoveal choroidal thickness at age 9 years in relation to clinical and perinatal characteristics in the population-based Generation R Study.
Acta Opthalmologica 2019. https://doi.org/10.1111/aos.14178
Presentations and Conferences
The MERLIN project and its results have been presented during the following events :
- Sept 2022, Hamburg – Euretina 2022
Pilot study of multimodal and multiscale retinal imaging technology developed by a trans-European multidisciplinary consortium, the MERLIN project - May 2022, Denver – ARVO 2022
Pilot investigation of multimodal and multiscale retinal imaging technology developed by a trans-European multidisciplinary consortium - December 2021, Rome – ICOOR 2021
– Challenges in adaptive optics OCT imaging
– Multimodal and multiscale retinal imaging with cellular-resolution OCT/OCTA - October 2021, USA & France (online) – i2Eye 2021 joint meeting
– Multi-modal clinical imaging with MERLIN
– Multi-modal and multi-scale clinical retinal imaging system with angiography - June 2021, France (online) – rtx1 Users’ Meeting 2021
New developments at Imagine Eyes - May 2021, USA (online) – ARVO Annual Meeting
Multi-modal and multi-scale retinal imaging with angiography - April 2021, USA (online) – OSA Biophotonics
High Resolution Multi-Modal and Multi-Scale Retinal Imaging for Clinical Settings - March 2021, USA (online) – 15th biennal meeting of the Association for Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Adaptive optics imaging usable by clincians - March 2021, USA (online) – SPIE Photonics West 2021
Versatile and flexible TAOSLO device for retinal imaging - January 2021, Netherlands (online) – 8th Dutch Biomedical Engineering Conference
– Automatic Vessel segmentation and wall-to-lumen ratio quantification in Adaptive Optics Ophthalmoscopy
– Automated lamina cribrosa segmentation in Optical Coherence Tomography scans of healthy and glaucomatous eyes - December 2020, Italy (online) – 8th International Congress on OCT Angiography and Advances in OCT
Multi-modal and multi-scale retinal imaging - July 2020, Montreal – MIDL 2020, Medical Imaging with Deep Learning
Deep learning-based retinal vessel segmentation by cross-modal learning May 2020, Baltimore – ARVO Imaging in the Eye ConferenceEvent cancelled due to COVID-19. Accepted abstract
Segmentation of the RPE-BM complex on OCT imaging from multiple devices based on convolutional neural networks
May 2020, Baltimore – ARVO annual meetingEvent cancelled due to COVID-19.
Abstracts published in the IOVS journal.
– Adaptive Optics SLO motion correction assisted by image similarity
– Improved performance of adaptive optics correction for retinal imaging in eyes with lens opacities
– Multi modal and multi scale retinal imaging with and without adaptive optics for clinical settings
– Single-volume AO-OCT imaging of retinal pigment epithelial cells at an extended field of view18/03/2020, Groningen – ICT.OPEN2020Event canceled due to COVID-19
Automated segmentation of the RPE-BM complex with deep learning to infer drusen incidence- 04/02/2020, San Jose – SPIE BiOS 2020
Extending the field of view with multiconjugate adaptive optics optical coherence tomography - 14/12/2019, Rome – 7th international congress on OCT-A and advances in OCT
Extending the field of view in AO-OCT - 13/12/2019, Leuven – IMAGE AI meeting
OCTA multilayer and multisector peripapillary microvascular modelling for diagnosing and staging of glaucoma - 03/12/2019, Rotterdam – Plenary meeting of the Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at Erasmus MC
- 04/10/2019, Rotterdam – CORR Ophthalmic Imaging Symposium
Adaptive Optics retinal imaging - 04/09/2019, Paris – Adaptive Optics Ophthalmoscopy and OCT Late Summer Course
– AO-OCT: Applications in clinical settings
– Motion correction and co-localization of 3D OCT-AO volumes
– Motion correction on SLO-AO towards image similarity and stripwise registration - 27/06/2019, Munich – ECBO
AO-OCT in clinical settings - 29/04/2019, Vancouver – ARVO annual meeting
AO-OCT Angiography in clinics: What do we see more? - 27/04/2019, Vancouver – ARVO Imaging in the Eye Conference
– The superficial peripapillary vascular layer is the most informative for glaucoma diagnosis: A multi-layer study based on OCT Angiography
– Motion correction in 3D-OCT data by intensity-based image registration: An evaluation study - 15/12/2018, Rome – 6th international congress on OCT-A and advances in OCT
– AO-OCT: from basic research to clinical applications
– Micro-angiography through AO-OCT - 23/09/2018, Vienna – Euretina annual meeting
Current technologies of retinal imaging for clinicians - 11/07/2018, Lewiston – Gordon Research Conference, Lasers in Medicine and Biology
AO-OCT with increased field of view for high resolution imaging of the retina - 19/06/2018, Barcelona – World of Ophthalmology Congress
– Adaptive Optics OCT & OCT Angiography
– From the lab to the clinic: Adaptive Optics-OCT - 29/04/2018, Honolulu – ARVO annual meeting
Increasing the field of view in high resolution imaging of the retina with AO-OCT
