Retina Photonics
Photonic analysis of the retina’s biometric photoabsorption

The pupil light reflex is an “instinctive” constriction of the pupil’s diameter upon light illumination. Upon termination of the illumination, the pupil dilates again to its original diameter. The process is governed by neural circuits, which emanate from the retina, pass through a processing center in the mid-brain, and return to the pupil’s muscles. Pupillometry measurements carry useful information about brain function, which in many cases has medically diagnostic value. Hence pupillometers can assess various opthalmic and neurological diseases.

By illuminating different single pixels we obtain qualitatively different pupil responses, conveying very rich yet until now inaccessible information about the relevant neural circuits.

Together with our partners, we are investigating algorithms to effectively recover this information and to apply techniques for identification and medical purposes.