Serial block face scanning electron microscopy was used by researchers to produce a digital reconstruction of eye tissues from the outer retina, at very high resolution.
A new study was published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Researchers used the technology on the central mouse retina.
This technology has never been used before to fully reconstruct cells from the retina. Utilizing this technology could help researchers learn more about the causes of eye diseases that lead to vision loss. Currently, scientists do not fully understand the causes of damage to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) that leads to vision loss.
The reconstruction provided by the technology provides a clear picture of the 3D organization of the RPE in a healthy eye, which provides a critical reference point for scientists to see how RPE cells change with age in eyes affected by disease
