Description du sujet de thèse

Study of Retinal Neurovascular Coupling Using Cellular-Resolution Imaging

Contexte de travail

This PhD project is part of the ERC MIRACLE-AD program, which aims to characterize the mechanisms of neurovascular coupling (NVC) in the human retina. NVC refers to the process by which neuronal activity locally modulates blood flow—a fundamental physiological mechanism whose early dysfunction is now considered one of the initial hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. The retina provides a unique in vivo model to study this phenomenon, as it is the only part of the central nervous system directly accessible through optical imaging.

In this context, the team is developing a groundbreaking cellular-resolution imaging technology, the AO-RSO (Adaptive Optics Rolling-Slit Ophthalmoscope). This system enables visualization of individual red blood cells, vessel walls, and the functional response of photoreceptors with millisecond temporal precision. It offers an unprecedented opportunity to study the coupled neuronal and vascular dynamics of the human retina.

Scientific Objective

The goal of this PhD project is to develop new optical methods and advanced image-processing approaches to simultaneously measure:

photoreceptor function (functional optical signals), and

the associated vascular response (blood-flow velocity, vessel diameter, NVC dynamics),

using in vivo datasets acquired with the AO-RSO system.

To achieve this, the PhD will combine:

instrumental development (optical optimization, illumination strategies, multi-camera synchronization),

optical modeling (contrast mechanisms in phase-contrast retinal imaging),

and high-resolution functional image analysis.

Research Environment

This work takes place within a highly interdisciplinary framework, bridging physics, optics, image processing, and visual neuroscience, in close collaboration with clinicians from the Paris Eye Imaging group at the Quinze-Vingts National Ophthalmology Hospital.